What does RAFT mean in FOOD & NUTRITION

The purpose of Renewing Americas Food Traditions is to provide support for traditional food communities by preserving and promoting local food cultures, promoting health and sustainability, educating consumers about native regional foods and their importance to biodiversity, revitalizing local economies, and helping indigenous people regain access to healthful traditional foods.

Renewing America’s Food Traditions works with a range of partners across the country - including farmers, chefs, gardeners, artisanal producers, tribes, non-profits and government agencies - to protect traditional foods ranging from heritage breeds of animals and fruits & vegetables to artisan cheese making practices. Through education programs like the Eat Local Challenge (which trains chefs on how to use seasonal ingredients) as well as direct action campaigns such as its nationwide Search for Lost Recipes campaign. Renewing America's Food Traditions works hard to both preserve existing knowledge and culture of traditional foods while encouraging broader access.

Preservation of regional foods is not only important from a cultural standpoint but it has critical benefits for biodiversity as well. By maintaining knowledge of traditional breeding practices as well as harvesting techniques we can ensure that genetic diversity continues in our crops. This diversity serves not only in terms of providing a wide variety of unique flavors but also resilience against pests & climate change – thereby reducing reliance on industrialized monocultures that require large amounts of chemical inputs. Additionally many existing regional varieties are native varieties which means they are adapted to their environment with fewer inputs meaning they often have higher nutritional value then imported alternatives.

By supporting small scale farmers producing traditional products – who often compete with industrial agribusiness concerns – RenewingAmericasFoodTraditionstakessteps towardsrevivinglocaleconomies throughoutthecountry. Through promotion efforts such as its Famers' Markets campaign which provides grants following online voting they help bring attention & support for small farms that might otherwise be unable to compete with larger industrial agriculture operations. Additionally initiatives like their Eat Local Challenge involve partnering with restaurants looking formore sustainableapproachestomeetingtheirfoodneeds–thusprovidingtremendousvaluefor localeconomies&communitiesatlarge.

Renewing America's Food Tradition recognizes that Indigenous People have been stewards of native regions natural resources for generations so it has dedicated itself to teaching them about their ancestral food culture, traditions and recipes for keeping these alive. Additionally it funds projects through its Indigenous Foods Project grant program which assists organizations working directly with Native American communities looking at ways of reviving agriculture knowledge & practices while reducing overweight & diabetes problems indigenous populations suffer from due too diet changes in recent years.

RenewingAmerica’sFoodTraditionshostseventsnationwideinanefforttopromote&preservetraditionalfoodsstylesandrelishthebountyoftheirownregionoforigin.. From educational workshops where participants learn about wildcraft gardening or butchery basics all the way up through complete festivals highlighting traditional arts & crafts around signature dishes – these provide an opportunity not only for education but also celebration around authentic cuisines & cultural practices that allow us all too share in something truly unique.

Yes! There are plenty volunteer opportunities available through Renewing America’s Food Traditions from providing administrative assistance at offices located across the nation or assisting in event planning at various festivals. A great way way to get involved is by volunteering your time at one if their tasting events where you can become educated first hand on what’s happening out there in terms of traditional cuisines & cooking methods while providing help setting up chairs or serving samples.

Absolutely! Donations play a vitally important role in our ability nourish our plans together towards protecting authentic culinary cultures while helping fight hunger & malnutrition around the world. Donations made directly towards our organization go far beyond funding research into old heirloom recipesbutareusedtobringculturebacktoitssourcewithcommunitybasedrevitalizationprogramsandbuildinginfrastructuresforsustainableagriculturalpractices.