RSVP Requested
The Local Food Forum is free and open to the public. Registration is open until Monday, February 6 at 2pm. Your registration will also get you on the contact list distributed at the Forum. Questions? E-mail Hannah.
Getting Here
All events will be in the Andrews Dining Hall on Brown University’s Pembroke campus in Providence. The campus is accessible by car, RIPTA / Greyhound / Bonanza bus, and Amtrak / MBTA train: directions and campus map. Free time-unlimited street parking is available a few blocks north. We recommend arriving a few minutes early to find a spot. Brown also offers an on-campus pay parking lot.
With generous support from:
Food Fight: How the 2012 Farm Bill Will Affect Rhode Island
The 8th Annual RI Local Food Forum will gather farmers, chefs, schools and institutional food service to network. Share best practices for local sourcing and ways to develop our local food system. Learn how to build your menus around the added value of fresh foods from Rhode Island. Discuss the social, environmental and economic benefits of supporting local family farmers through direct food purchasing.
Local Food Forum - February 7, 2012
The yearly networking event for Rhode Island food producers and buyers.
The 2012 theme is Food Fight: How the 2012 Farm Bill Will Affect Rhode Island.
Come join the discussion on how this very important piece of legislation shapes Rhode Island farmers and eaters. Every 5 years a new Farm Bill passes through Congress and reshapes our food and our agriculture. It includes programs like SNAP, commodity subsidies, WIC, conservation programs, community food projects and more. Currently, in the $288 billion 2008 Farm Bill, the budget for local farms and foods might as well be a rounding error. But there's an opportunity: the 2012 Farm Bill is currently being crafted!The Local Food Forum is free but space is limited. Register now!
8:30 Check-in, Coffee, Tea and Pastries
9 Introduction and Welcome
- Ken Ayars, Chief of RI DEM Division of Agriculture
- Janet Coit, Director, RI DEM
- Noah Fulmer, Executive Director of Farm Fresh Rhode Island
9:30 Keynote: The 2012 Farm Bill & Rhode Island
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, Maine farmer and author of the Local Food, Farms and Jobs Act
10:15 Town Hall Meeting
- Annette Higby, Policy Director, New England Farmers Union
- Cris Coffin, New England Director, American Farmland Trust
- Jonathon Dworkin, Communications Director, Congressman Langevin
- Tess Brown-Lavoie, Farmer, Sidewalk Ends Farm
11:15 Speed Networking
Meet all the people you should know but don't yet. The farmer who will be growing your tomatoes next year will be here. As will the food service director who will buy the thirty extra bushels of corn you harvested. Priceless connections in 45 minutes or less.
12 Lunch and Mingle
Grab a bite and track down the people you circled on your list.
12:50 Presentation: A Look at the Brown Market Shares Program
1 Affinity Roundtables
Furthering the Breadth and Depth of Local Food Sourcing and Farm Bill Policy. Forty minute gatherings centered on specific challenges and successes. Join in on the tables with the topics most pertinent to your interests. Here are some examples from last year. Suggest a new topic!
- 2012 Farm Bill discussion
Continue the discussion of how federal food and agriculture policies will affect farmers and eaters in our state and region. - Keeping Locally Caught Seafood Local
Pt. Judith fishermen Captain Richard Cook will share information about connecting local seafood to the local foods movement and customers. Learn about fishing in the state. - Compost
Join the discussion about opportunities to compost at your school, workplace, etc. Learn about EcoRI's composting projects at the Wintertime Farmers Market and around Rhode Island. - Organic Farming and Certification
Learn about RI's organic certification program. Discussion will cover programs aimed at increasing acreage of certified organic land in RI and increasing access of local organic food to all RI eaters. - Farmers Markets
An open discussion about what works, what doesn't, where farmers markets are wanted/needed, and how to make your market even more successful. - Community Kitchens
Whether you have access to a kitchen or are looking for one - come join this conversation about connecting food businesses and farmers to commercial kitchens. - Low-income access/EBT
Discuss ways to include low-income consumers in the local food movement. Topics will include accepting WIC and EBT at your market, getting Fresh Food into food pantries and more. - Farm to Institution
Discuss how to get local foods into schools, hospitals, worksites, childcare, prisons and more. - New and Beginning Farmers
Interested in farming in Rhode Island or recently began? Join a discussion about resources and support for new farmers and connecting to local markets and more. - Retail Infrastructure
Discuss options, and projects underway, that help get more local goods in grocery stores, and help expand access to healthy, locally grown goods. (Examples include opening a food-coop, getting produce in corner stores, etc)
2:30 Wrap-up
Information about the Local Food Forum in 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005 is still available if you're curious.