|
8th
Annual CFSC Conference
Celebrating a Decade of Community Food Security
co-hosted by Growing
Power
October
16-19, 2004
Milwaukee, WI
Click here to download conference
brochure in PDF format.
Co-sponsors: World Hunger Year, USDA Community Food Projects,
Hope House, Churches Center for Land and People, 3MD - Charlie
Koenen, University of Wisconsin-Madison,
Friends of Troy Gardens, NeuErth Wormfarm/Wormfarm Institute,
Heifer International,
Full Harvest Farm, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, USDA,
Rainbow Farmers' Coop, Hillcrest Deli, Hunger Task Force
On line registration is closed. Come to the second floor of the Midwest Airlines Center October 18th and 19th to register on-site.
Jump to: Location - Nominate
Young Adults - Field Trips - Short
Courses - Receptions - Plenaries
- Workshops - Special
Event - Schedule - Logistics
- Scholarships and Work Trades
Conference Introduction
In this year's Community Food Security conference, we return to the shores of Lake Michigan, where the Community Food Security Coalition was founded in 1994, to celebrate our tenth anniversary. Since then, the CFSC has come a long way. We have gained passage of multiple pieces of federal legislation, built a national movement and organization with over 300 organizational members, developed groundbreaking programs, and employ 11 staff on a budget approaching $1 million. Come join us in the Heartland as we celebrate our victories and dream about what changes the next decade may bring.
The 2004 gathering, Celebrating a Decade of Community Food Security, co-hosted by Milwaukee's own Growing Power, is an unparalleled opportunity to connect with food activists and practitioners from across the continent to share experiences and learn about building just and healthy food systems in your community.
As always, our conference provides numerous educational and networking opportunities. Learn about the exciting advances in food system policy and practices in the UK from Jeanette Longfield, co-ordinator of Sustain, the premiere national food systems network in Great Britain. Find out about the latest advances, learn practical tips, or engage in provocative dialogue at any of the conference's 40 workshops. Take a trip to Madison to visit one of the best food co-ops in the country, one of the nation's largest farmers' markets, or its plethora of CSA farms. Swoop down to Chicago to check out its famous urban agriculture projects. Or stay in Milwaukee and go fishing with Will Allen at Growing Power's aquaponics and vermiculture training center.
Alternately you could spend a day educating yourself about how to build a diverse organization, create successful farm to school projects, better evaluate your projects, or be a more effective grassroots organizer at our Sunday short courses. Get involved in the Coalition through any of our nine committees, or voice your opinion about where your movement needs to go at the annual town hall meeting. Meet new friends and catch up with old ones over locally grown food and drink at any of our receptions or meals.
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Milwaukee
is the place to be this October. Autumn is a beautiful time
to explore Milwaukee and the surrounding Wisconsin countryside,
with its rolling hills, dairy farms, and lakes.
Check out the Lakefront, where the size and grandeur of Lake
Michigan will make you think you're on America's North Coast.
Milwaukee
is renown as a fun place to party, with its numerous bars and
music clubs. Take a few days of vacation before or after the
conference to relax along the lakes of Northern Wisconsin or
to visit the cultural attractions of nearby Chicago.
This year's
event will be held at the Midwest Airlines Center, Milwaukee's
state of the art convention center. It is located downtown within
walking distance of numerous restaurants, cultural attractions,
and Lake Michigan.
It is adjacent
to the Hilton Hotel, where a block of rooms have been reserved
for conference attendees.
Hilton Hotel
509 West Wisconsin Ave (adjacent to the Convention Center)
downtown Milwaukee
414-271-7250
www.milwaukeehilton.com
Built
in 1928, the Hilton features Art Deco styling, a cavernous marble
lobby and elegant ballroom. A full service hotel, it also features
the nation's only indoor waterpark, Paradise Landing. Room rates
are $97 for singles or doubles, until September 15. The number
of rooms at this rate is limited, so book early. Mention that
you are part of the Community Food Security Coalition conference
when making your reservations.
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Nominate
Young Adult Teams!
CFSC is
partnering with The
Food Project (TFP) to create a significant and meaningful
youth presence at the 2004 Annual Conference. This collaboration
is part of TFP's BLAST (Building Local Agricultural Systems
Today) Initiative. BLAST's mission is to develop a network of
young leaders who will build and advocate for sustainable, community-based
food systems.
You are invited to nominate a youth/young adult team to participate in the conference. If selected, your team would join others from around the country for a Pre-Conference Training & Networking Day and for special workshops during the proceedings that will help youth and young adults get the most out of the conference. Selected teams will also be eligible to apply for scholarships. For more information and applications, please contact Anim Steel at The Food Project: 617-442-1322 x17 or email
asteel@thefoodproject.org.
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Field
Trips
We have
prepared for you a series of field trips to some of the region's
food system highlights. All field trips leave from the downtown
Hilton. NOTE that all Sunday full day bus trips will return
only to the SHARE reception site, not to the Hilton. Registration
is in the lobby of the Hilton at the Fifth Street Entrance.
All field trips include roundtrip transportation on motor coach,
educational materials, a light breakfast, snacks, and with the
exception of Saturday's Farmers' Market Tour, lunch.
Saturday, October 16, 8am - 3pm
The Dane County Farmers' Market Tour,
Madison FULL
Now in its 32nd season, the Dane County Farmers' Market is one
of the nation's largest producer-only markets. As many as 300
vegetable, flower and specialty food vendors from across southern
Wisconsin participate in market Saturdays from late April until
early November. The market's attractions for both tourists and
locals include its location around park-like Capitol Square
surrounding the Wisconsin State Capitol, and the numerous entertainment
and political activities that enrich the market experience.
After the market, there will be time to stroll busy State Street,
lined with shops and eateries from the Capitol to the University
of Wisconsin campus.
All of the tours below take place on Sunday, October 17
Victory Gardens, Victorious Gardeners:
Chicago's South and Southwest Side (8am - 5:30pm)
Visit Rainbow Community Gardens, an original World War II Victory
Garden in a Chicago Park and God's Little Acre/ Woodlawn Community
Farm to see both the long term and the new ventures in community
food growing and distribution. A stop at the Cook County Sheriff's
Garden offers insight into an innovative and successful project
that includes food production, Master Gardener and job training
for detainees, and food distribution for food pantries and homeless
shelters. Whittier School's Xochiquetzal Garden tells the story
of a neighborhood in transformation. A stop at a local market
and the Chicago Food Depository provide a complete food security
cycle.
Healthy Food, Healthy Community: Chicago's
Northside (8am - 5:30pm) FULL
Visit Chicago's City Farm and the new Cabrini Community Garden
to see both experienced and novice gardeners growing food and
community in Chicago. A stop at Waters Elementary School introduces
a school and community garden with a total vision for the neighborhood
and North Lawndale Bee Cooperative to discover a "honey" of
a project on Chicago's west side. A local market as well as
lunch at/by a café that offers jobs and job training for homeless
and individuals rounds out the trip.
Food Security Initiatives in Madison
(8:30am - 6pm)
Madison, Wisconsin's capital city, is home to several innovative
food security activities managed by active community-based organizations
and private businesses. This tour will begin with a hands-on
visit to Troy Gardens, a single-site combination of affordable
housing, ethnically-diverse community gardeners, a CSA farm,
youth programs and natural areas restoration. The tour will
also visit the Williamson Street Grocery Cooperative, voted
one of the nation's best food co-ops; stop at Wisconsin Homegrown
Lunch, the area's most active farm-to-school effort, and learn
of the efforts of local restaurants to incorporate locally-produced
food into their menus.
A Tour of Dane County and South Central Wisconsin (8:30am -
6pm)
The agricultural landscape around Madison is among the nation's
most productive, but also among the most threatened due to the
city's rapid growth. Several small-scale efforts are underway
to preserve farmland and promote the distribution of locally-grown
food. This tour will highlight innovative strategies of individual
farmers, and organizational actions supporting the efforts of
small sustainable growers to distribute food to farmers' markets,
schools, restaurants and grocery stores/cooperatives from Southern
Wisconsin to Chicago. Tour stops will include Vermont Valley
Farm, an active CSA west of Madison, an organic dairy farm,
and, in keeping with the season, an apple orchard.
Food and Farming in Milwaukee (8:30am
- 1:00pm)
Visit conference co-sponsor Growing Power's operation, where
you will see their integrated vermicomposting, aquaculture and
hydroponics operations, as well as their retail operations,
farmers' markets and farmer cooperative. Next stop in the half
day tour is Walnut Way, a non-profit community organization
dedicated to preserving and enhancing one of Milwaukee's oldest
and most significant African-American neighborhoods. Walnut
Way has collaborated with university, government, and community
groups to preserve the neighborhood's history, rehabilitate
its homes, produce vegetables for market, and implement storm
water management systems such as rain gardens.
Michael Fields Agricultural Institute
(8:30am - 1:00pm)
Michael Fields Agricultural Institute is an innovative non-profit
organization seeking to revitalize farming with research, education,
technical assistance and public policy. Their 570-acre "outdoor
classroom" provides demonstration of profitable farming practices
with positive impacts on air, water, and wildlife quality. Crop
rotation, ground cover, nutrient trading with local dairies,
border strips and alternative crops are some of the practices
demonstrated. Through their Food Systems program you will learn
how to coordinate grassroots efforts to educate consumers and
increase agricultural literacy and regional food demand.
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Short
Courses
With funding
from USDA Community Food Projects
All
short courses take place at the Hilton Hotel on Sunday, 10/17.
Registration will be at the upper lobby of the Hilton. Fees
for Short Courses are not included in regular conference registration.
Instructional materials and box lunch are included in the price
of full day short courses. Afternoon courses include instructional
materials but do not include lunch.
Energize Your Board of Directors! (9am
- 5pm)
In this practical and highly interactive course, participants
will learn how other food- and agriculture-related nonprofit
leaders have systematically strengthened their boards and supported
long-term program and organizational effectiveness. Session
topics will include: envisioning your ideal board, assessing
how your board is meeting its responsibilities, choosing board
candidates, and renewing your board systematically. Participants
will learn about methods and tools for strengthening a board,
and will create a plan for taking the first steps toward a newly
energized and focused board for their organizations.
Course leaders: Dianne
Russell, Institute for Conservation Leadership
Building Grassroots Power: Skills for
Community Organizing (9am - 5pm)
Across the country, people are organizing and winning victories
for food justice, from banning soda sales in schools to fighting
corporate control of farms. In this course, seasoned organizers
will share their strategies for cultivating leaders and organizers,
developing campaigns, and choosing tactics in both urban and
rural communities. If you want to strengthen your organizing
skills, or to involve low-income people or farmers in your advocacy
in a more meaningful way, this is the course for you. Participants
will take home specific tools and materials.
Course leaders: Francesca de la
Rosa, Center for Food & Justice; Bryce
Oates, Missouri Rural Crisis Center; Michelle
Mascarenhas, Rooted In Community.
Building Diverse and Inclusive Organizations
(9am - 5pm)
Course participants will learn what it takes to transition an
organization with very limited diversity to one that is increasingly
representative of its constituents. The Food Project will present
its experiences as a case study. Participants will then engage
in a series of diversity exercises in which they will explore
personal and professional issues. Through these exercises, they
will learn about levels of oppression, target and non-target
designations, dimensions of change, and a skills assessment
tool. These experiences can be a powerful first step in creating
personal and organizational transformation.
Course leaders: Greg Gale, Pat Gray,
Liz Luc Clowes, and Anim Steel, The Food Project.
Farm to School Truckin': Strategies for Distributing Farm Products
to Schools (1:30pm - 5:30pm)
Three successful farm to school distribution strategies will
be discussed in depth by people who developed and now use them.
These strategies include working with a farmer cooperative,
developing an informal farmer network, and collaborating with
the Department of Defense Fresh produce buying program. In addition
to covering strategies and challenges, this course will use
participatory methods to help attendees define the best distribution
approach for their specific situation.
Course leaders: Sara Tedeschi,
UW Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems; Marion
Kalb, CFSC; Jim Churchill,
Community Alliance with Family Farmers; representative of Department
of Defense Fresh.
A Field Guide to Evaluation for Community
Food Security Projects (1:30pm - 5:30pm)
This course will focus on practical steps to program evaluation
and creative strategies for organizational development through
evaluation. Participants will learn how to develop an evaluation
plan and specific methods and tools for basic outcome-based
evaluation. They also will explore a systems approach to evaluation
based on an organizational theory of change. Examples of evaluation
strategies will be shared by Community Food Projects grantees
and the Kellogg Foundation.
Course leaders: Jeanette Abi-Nader,
CFSC; Dr. Craig Russon,
W.K. Kellogg Foundation; Jenifer Smith,
South Plains Food Bank; Tera Couchman,
Janus Youth Program.
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Receptions
Taste
of Milwaukee Reception
Sunday October 17, 6:00pm - 10:00pm
SHARE Community Food Center, Butler, WI (about 15 miles northwest
of downtown at 131st and Silver Spring Dr. Transportation will
leave from the Hilton Hotel every 15 minutes from 6 - 8 pm)
Come eat, drink, and be merry at this networking reception.
You'll be treated to Oneida Indian dancers, dance to tunes spun
by a local DJ, and indulge in the flavors of the Midwest. Top
chefs and restaurants from the Milwaukee, Chicago, and Madison
areas will prepare regional, seasonal delights using fresh produce,
meats, and cheeses from area farmers and producers. You will
also have a chance to sample the special microbrews that Milwaukee
is known for as well as cider and regional wines.
Celebrating a Decade of Community Food Security
Monday October 18, 5:30-7:00 Midwest Airlines Center
Join the CFSC as we celebrate our 10th anniversary with local
food and drink, and stories from across the continent of how
the community food security movement has transformed local struggles
for a just and healthy food system.
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Plenaries
A View
from the Bridge: How a Mayor and Top Banking Official See Community
Food Security
October 18, 8:30-9:30 am
This panel of distinguished experts will address key questions
facing the CFS movement, such as: how can food security advocates
raise the profile of our work among policymakers? How can socially-oriented
food enterprises be fully capitalized to reach their maximum
potential? What is the community development potential for community
food projects?
Moderator: Jerry Kaufman,
University of Wisconsin
Speakers: Thomas Barrett,
Mayor, City of Milwaukee; Bob
Nash, Vice Chairman Shore Bank Corporation, ex
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Small Community and Rural
Development
Roundtable:
The Next Ten Years: Where Do We Go From Here?
Monday October 18, 9:30-11:00 am
The CFSC turns ten this year. In this past decade, we have gained
numerous accomplishments, not the least of which is the acceptance
of community food security as a viable movement for food system
change. As we move into our second decade, we wonder what challenges
and opportunities will the next ten years bring? What strategies
shall we employ to bring more justice, health and sustainability
to the food system? What can we achieve in the next decade?
What is our vision for a food system in 2014? This roundtable
brings together a diversity of perspectives from global to local,
policy to market-based change.
Moderator: Keecha Harris,
WK Kellogg Foundation Food and Society Consultant
Speakers: Kate Clancy, Winrock
International (invited); Rhonda Perry,
farmer and Missouri Rural Crisis Center; Will
Allen, Growing Power; Stephanie Weisenbach, 1000
Friends of Iowa - BLAST program representative
Keynote Address, Tuesday Lunch October 19
Jeanette Longfield, Co-ordinator Sustain
 A
thriving food security movement in the UK has gained impressive
accomplishments in recent years. There are numerous lessons
we can learn from our British counterparts to take home to our
communities. Jeanette Longfield, coordinator of Sustain will
help us to think outside the box to develop new strategies and
approaches. In recent years, Jeanette and Sustain have worked
from the international to the community level on such issues
as promoting organic agriculture, starting a London food policy
council, stopping junk food advertising to kids, increasing
consumer awareness of food miles, improving access to healthy
foods in low income communities, and undertaking community food
mapping. She'll follow up her talk with a workshop to delve
into the UK experience on food systems activism.
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Workshops
(Monday, October 18 -Tuesday, October 19)
Anti-Hunger
Track:
Sponsored by World
Hunger Year and the USDA Community Food Projects
Out with the Bad, in with
the Good: Reshaping Federal Nutrition and Farm Policy
(Monday, 11am)
Thomas Forster, CFSC
Kathy Lawrence, National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture
Ed Cooney, Congressional Hunger Center
Mark Winne, WK Kellogg Policy Fellow
Ed Barron, Office of Senator Leahy (invited)
This workshop will explore emerging connections between sustainable agriculture, anti-hunger and CFS groups. Each speaker will respond to the question: what steps can we take together to reshape federal nutrition and farm policy? The interactive discussion between participants and speakers will focus on mobilizing support for a new agenda.
The Obesity Epidemic: Crisis and Opportunity
(Monday, 2pm)
Toni Liquori, Community Food Resource Center
Fern Gale Estrow, American Dietetic Association HEN
Ellen Desjardins, Waterloo Ontario Public Health Department
Peter Mann, World Hunger Year
America's obesity epidemic is reshaping the way we think about food insecurity and hunger. Speakers will focus on the question: what are the connections between poverty, hunger, and diet-related diseases, such as diabetes and obesity? What are strategies to address these issues? The discussion will explore ways to use heightened media coverage and public awareness of the obesity epidemic to promote change.
Navigating the Food Web: Gathering
and Sharing Information on Food Security (Monday,
4pm)
Noreen Springstead, World Hunger Year
Peter Mann, WHY
Mary Gable, WHY
As community food security and anti-hunger advocates, we are bombarded each day with more articles, reports, and action alerts than we can possibly process at once. This workshop will feature the Food Security Learning Center, developed by WHY in partnership with CFSC as a centralized information site on community food security, federal food programs, nutrition, and more. How could the Learning Center help your work? How could it become more interactive? This participatory workshop is geared for energetic individuals concerned with spreading the word on food security issues as effectively as possible.
Food Banks: From Food Charity to Food
Justice (Tuesday,
11am)
Sharon Thornberry, Oregon Food Bank
Doug O'Brien, America's Second Harvest (invited)
Eric Schockman, Mazon
Suzan Bateson, Alameda County Community Food Bank
Jon Janowski, Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee
How is food banking shifting from food charity to food justice? Speakers will respond to the questions - How can food banks provide high-quality food? What new and innovative roles are food banks playing for community food security? What are their links with the food processing industry, and with surplus federal food supplies? The discussion will focus on strategies to reshape food banking.
Making It Happen: Combining Anti-Hunger
and Food Security Efforts at the Ground Level (Tuesday,
2:30pm)
Bill Ayres, World Hunger Year
Ruth Katz, Just Food
David Weaver, South Plains Food Bank (invited)
Joel Berg, New York City Coalition Against Hunger (invited)
John Krakowski, City Harvest
As a follow-up to workshop From Food Charity to Food Justice, this workshop will explore practical approaches to integrating food security and anti-hunger efforts at the community level. Participants will explore both ways in which CFS groups can partner with their local emergency food providers, as well as ways in which emergency food providers can incorporate more food security efforts, such as community gardening and partnering with local farmers, into their operations.
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Farm to Cafeteria track:
Linking that Land with the
Lunchroom: Farm-to-School Issues of Scale and Seasonality in
the Upper Midwest (Monday,
11am)
Iris Tirado, Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD)
Rink Davee, Home Grown Wisconsin Cooperative
Joan Lubke, Decorah, IA School District
Michael Nash, Sunflower Fields Farm, GROWN Locally Cooperative
This session will take a meaningful look at two thriving farm-to-school initiatives in the upper Midwest in order to highlight and compare a variety of issues revolving around food service scale and production demands. Included in this discussion will be exploration of how urban vs. rural community support systems may differ and how these inherent differences may affect the need for project infrastructure and facilitation.
Plate Tectonics: Do Farm-to-School
Programs Really Shift Children's Diets? (Tuesday,
11am)
Gail Feenstra, UC SAREP
Jeri Ohmart, UC SAREP
Melissa Salazar, UC Davis School of Education
Jennifer Keeley, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute
Do farm-to-school programs make a difference in students' diet and behaviors? Using extensive digital photo analyses, this session will look at actual food choices, consumption patterns, and attitudes in select public schools in California. Panelists will also assess documented evidence of improved student behavior, using a model alternative public charter school in Wisconsin as a detailed case study.
Cultivating a School Lunch Network
in the Upper Midwest (Monday,
2pm)
Kristen Corselius, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Sara Tedeschi, Wisconsin Home Grown Lunch
Camille Autumn Reid, Illinois Healthy Schools Campaign
As a result of our workshop, participants will be able to:
· Better understand the breadth of school lunch reform happening in the Upper Midwest;
· Identify common successes and challenges of different projects;
· Become involved in ongoing regional efforts;
· Replicate this same model of action in other areas of the country.
Growing Food, Farms, and Nutrition
Education through the "3 C's": Joining the Classroom, Cafeteria
and Community to Educate (Tuesday,
2:30pm)
Dana Hudson, Shelburne Farms
Joseph Kiefer, FOOD WORKS
Enid Wonnacott, Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont.
Share effective ideas for engaging your community, classroom educators, and school cooks in food and farming issues through school based and community education. Develop strategies for providing relevant, local connections to food production and processing in your surrounding community as you explore your agricultural heritage, identify food resources, experience food education activities and more.
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Upper Midwest Track:
From Field to Table: Connecting
Local Producers to Restaurants, Putting a Face On Our Food
(Monday,
4pm)
Ann Wegner, Rainbow Farmers Cooperative
Michael Altenberg, Executive Chef--Campagnola (invited)
Ken Dunn, City Farm (invited)
David Cleverdon, Kinnickinnick Farm (invited)
David Swanson, chef (invited)
Janet Gamble, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (invited)
Jeff Orr, Harvest Restaurant (invited)
This panel of farmers and chefs who practice and support sustainable agriculture will discuss how to connect these two groups; how to create liaisons between them; how to get them speaking the same language; the needs of both parties when developing partnerships; and the limitations, concerns, or successes of past experiences.
Walking the Talk in Madison: How to
Undertake Projects That Build an Organization While They Build
a Local Food System (Tuesday,
2:30pm)
Jack Kloppenburg, University of Wisconsin
Miriam Grunes, REAP
Sara Tedeschi, Wisconsin Homegrown Lunch Project, REAP
Cris Carusi, UW Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems
How can citizen-based food advocacy groups select and undertake activities that build both the organization and the alternative food system? Learn from REAP's experience in growing an organization, organizing a food festival, publishing a Farm Fresh Atlas, and initiating a farm-to-school program. Panel presentation followed by "how-to" breakout groups.
Growing Farmers: Rural and Urban Experiences
in Adult Education and Job Training (Monday,
2pm)
Tom Spaulding, CSA Learning Center @ Angelic Organics
Michael Thompson, Program Manager of the North Lawndale Honey
Co-op
Representatives from the North Lawndale Honey Co-op
Representatives from Growing Home Inc
The Food Security Movement needs to pinpoint and nourish the sources within a region from which competent new farmers can emerge. The CSA Learning Center, Growing Home, and the North Lawndale Honey Co-op will talk about advanced farm internships, popular adult education, and job training/job creation for homeless and ex-offenders.
The State of Urban Agriculture in Chicago
Today and Advocating for Change (Tuesday,
11am)
Representatives from AUA
Chicago Advocates for Urban Agriculture (AUA) is a coalition of organizations and individuals open to all interested in networking and advocating for urban agriculture in the Chicago area. We will share our experience through pictures and a discussion of new policies that AUA has proposed to the City of Chicago.
Community-University Partnerships and
Community Food Security: Issues and Discussion from Chicago
(Monday,
11am)
Daniel Block, Chicago State University
Erika Allen, Growing Power
Nancy Bates, University of Illinois-Chicago, School of Public
Health
Joanne Kouba, Loyola University School of Nursing
Representative from Westside Health Authority
This session brings together five active participants in current Chicago-based collaborative food security projects to discuss both the projects themselves, and to assess the community-university linkages within them. Discussion will focus on the advantages and possible pitfalls of such collaborations and the particular Chicago experience.
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Policy Track:
The Convergence of Minority
Agriculture and Community Food Security (Tuesday,
11am)
Elizabeth Tuckermanty, USDA CSREES
Zy Weinberg, USDA CSREES
Keith Richards, Southern SAWG
Community food security emphasizes underserved communities and strives to promote systems that are ecologically sound, economically viable, socially just, and sensitive to minority communities. Coalition initiatives and USDA actions that integrate food systems with specialized ethnic needs will be highlighted and discussed.
Understanding International Trade:
Advancing Local Food Systems (Monday,
11am)
Bro. David Andrews, National Catholic Rural Life Conference
Robert Gronski, National Catholic Rural Life Conference
Food production and international trade are contentious issues for the United States and nations around the world. This workshop will look at key policy issues surrounding trade negotiations in respect to food security and sovereignty. Participants will develop a critical perspective that looks into the negotiated world of trade, food and agriculture.
A Round-Table Discussion on the Fundamentals of Local and State
Food Policy Organizing (Tuesday,
2:30pm)
Mark Winne, WK Kellogg Policy Fellow
Wayne Roberts, Toronto Food Policy Council
Betty Izumi, Portland/Multnomah FPC
Jiff Martin, Hartford Food System, City of Hartford and State
of Connecticut Food Policy Councils
Pam Roy, New Mexico Food & Agriculture Policy Council
The workshop will use a round-table format to learn how some of North America's leading local/state food policy practitioners have fused the best of the public and private sectors to move communities toward food security and sustainability. The workshop is intended for people who are relatively new to local and state food policy work or may be in the early stages of developing food policy groups.
Does the Right to Food Mean Local and
Organic Food? (Monday,
2pm & 4pm)
Lori Stahlbrand, Foodshare Toronto
Hugh Joseph, Tufts University
Mark Winne, WK Kellogg Policy Fellow
Conventionally produced foods are relatively inexpensive, but increasingly detrimental to the health and well-being of the environment, people, and communities. At the same time, the production of and demand for local and sustainably produced foods is reaching unprecedented levels, but their availability to lower income communities is often limited by price and access. Will cheap, conventional food reduce food insecurity? Can local and sustainable food accomplish the same end without the side effect of harming the environment and farmers? In this special 2 1/2 hour workshop, participants will grapple with these questions and participate in the design of policies and practices, including ecolabeling, that are good for farmers, good for low-income communities, and support environmentally sustainability.
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Local Food System Track:
Connecting Farms to Health
Care: Successes & Hold-ups (Tuesday,
2:30pm)
David Wallinga, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Troy Ludgate, Roots and Fruits
Hospitals and other health care institutions increasingly are
looking to grow or buy local, more sustainably-produced food,
including meats raised without routine antibiotics. These arrangements
can be somewhat unique from farm-to-school programs. Since their
mission is health-focused, healthcare institutions may put a
greater premium on healthful food production practices relative
to cost, for example. This session offers case studies, and
highlights some of the hurdles involved in purchasing local
foods.
Avoiding the Local Trap: A discussion
of means and ends in food system action and research.
(Monday,
11am)
Branden Born, University of Washington
Mark Purcell, University of Washington
Samina Raja, SUNY-Buffalo
Katy Mamen, The International Society for Ecology and Culture
Typical arguments for localism are flawed and harmful. We need to re-orient our thinking about food systems to identify goals, such as environmental sustainability, strong local economies, and increased food security, then identify strategies to attain those goals. A short panel presentation will be followed by a participatory discussion about the (un)importance of localism.
Weaving a Tighter Food Web: Northeast
Ohio Foodshed Network (Tuesday,
2:30pm)
Brad Masi, Eco-Design Innovation Center (EDIC)
Kari Moore, Northeast Ohio Foodshed Network/EDIC
Moving from rust-belt to green belt, a diverse coalition of organizations has formed the Northeast Ohio Foodshed Network to transform the regional food economy for metropolitan Cleveland. This workshop will focus on the NEO Food Web, demonstrating the importance of coalition building between businesses, farmers, government, non-profit organizations, and colleges and universities in establishing sustainable regional food systems.
Starting and Expanding Buy Local Food
Campaigns (Monday,
2pm)
Robert Karp, Practical Farmers of Iowa
Kamyar Enshayan, Iowa Buy Fresh, Buy Local
Joani Walsh, FoodRoutes
This workshop will provide local food systems advocates with practical tools and strategies to start and expand a 'buy local' food campaign in their region. Participants will learn about the 'Buy Fresh, Buy Local' campaign and other resources to jumpstart their local food marketing efforts.
Producing a Local Food Guide - Why
and How (Monday,
4pm)
Charlie Jackson, Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project
Joani Walsh, FoodRoutes
Local food guides are integral to successful food system work. This session will examine the why and how of producing a local food guide with detail that will allow all participants to leave knowing what kind of guide will work best for them and how to create and publish their own local food guide.
Building Local Wealth by Building Local
Foods Systems (Tuesday,
11am)
Ken Meter, Crossroads Resource Center
Hank Herrera, Center for Participatory Research, Education,
and Policy
Since people eat three meals a day, food generates a great deal of economic activity-yet builds little wealth for inner-city or rural residents. This workshop will help you use powerful economic tools in building stronger local food systems, using new findings from Minnesota, New York, Iowa, California, and Hawaii.
Re-building Our Local Food System:
Southside Community Land Trust (Tuesday,
11am)
Katherine Brown, Kiera Mulvey, Lauren Smock-Randall, Devan
Chase Southside Community Land Trust
Come learn about our two-decade efforts to re-build Providence's local food system, and share your own experiences. Facilitated break-out groups will focus, respectively, on three of our community food security efforts: our farm business "incubator" program for immigrants, our farmers' market in a low-income neighborhood, and our innovative youth clubs.
The Regional Food Systems Working Group:
A Collaborative Model to Address Challenges in and Document
Impacts of Local and Regional Food Systems (Monday,
4pm)
Rich Pirog, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
Susan Futrell, Marketing and Food Systems Consultant
Ken Meter, Crossroads Resource Center
The Regional Food Systems Working Group uses collaborative approaches to document economic, community, and environmental impacts of local and regional food systems, and address challenges these systems face to meet an ever-increasing demand for high quality local and regional food products. This session will provide an overview of the process used to develop the RFSWG and discuss several of the current projects.
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New and Innovative Alliances
Track:
Cultivating Diversity in
the Community Food Security Movement (Monday,
2pm)
Hank Herrera, C-PREP
Neelam Sharma, Community Service Unlimited
Anan Lololi, Afri-Can FoodBasket
This workshop will provide insight and information on the evolution
of CFS initiatives that are being directed by communities of
color within the CFS movement. Participants will learn first
hand from representatives of grassroots organizations working
in communities of color about their experiences and how to work
with them to build productive partnerships. This panel will
explore how bottom up grassroots community organizations are
working to raise awareness about CFS issues and establish projects
and programs that are locally valued, culturally appropriate
and address the communities¹ many needs. The workshop will be
an interactive discussion among organisations that are working
in overstressed communities and how they are developing innovative
tools to teach people about CFS and making it an important issue.
Panellist will speak about leadership experiences that are happening
in communities of color, challenges and successes to organizing
around food security issues, and their hopes and aspiration
of creating empowered food secure communities.
What Are Planners in Milwaukee, Chicago,
and Madison Doing to Support Community Food Systems
(Tuesday,
11am)
Alicia Berg, Chicago Planning Department
Mark Olinger, Madison Planning and Development Department
Welford Sanders, Milwaukee's Martin Luther King Economic Development
Corporation.
Jerry Kaufman, U. Wisconsin-Madison
This session will look at ways that government planning agencies in Milwaukee, Chicago, and Madison are working and can work to support development of more sustainable community food systems. Top planners from each of these cities will make up the panel. Ample time will be provided for audience members to engage in give and take discussion with the planners on the panel.
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Enterprise Track:
Super-Sized Retail as a Threat
to Community Food Security (Monday,
4pm)
Wayne Roberts, Toronto Food Policy Council
Super-sized retailers play a pivotal role in the undermining of food security around the world. Speakers in this session will identify the ways that super-sized retailers exploit all actors in the food system, and explore strategies and actions that community groups can pursue to develop a new community-based supply chain.
Food Security through financial sustainability
(Monday,
4pm)
Will Allen, Growing Power & Pat Gray, The Food Project
We will share our experiences, successes and challenges in creating food enterprises. These enterprises, executed with youth partners, not only provide organizational sustainability, leadership training, financial literacy and business skills for the next generation, but also a terrific atmosphere for creating multi-cultural communities.
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No
Track:
Community Food Security
101 (Monday,
11am)
Kai Siedenburg, CFSC
Pamela Roy, Farm to Table
An interactive introduction to community food security (CFS). Through discussion, examples, and interactive exercises, we’ll explore questions like: What is community food security? What does it look like? What can I do to promote it in my community?
Enterprising Women: Making the Connection
From Local to Global (Monday,
2pm)
Kami Pothukuchi, Wayne State University
Denise O'Brien, Women, Food and Agriculture Network
Cynthia Vagnetti
Presenters Kami Pothukuchi, Denise O'Brien, Cynthia Vagnetti will discuss the use of media and storytelling as a tool for classroom learning and community organizing. The screening of Voices of Michigan Farm Women will be followed discussion, interactive exercise and excerpts from the WFAN survey Cass County Farmland.
School and Community Food Assessments:
Using Community Research to Inform Action in a Local Context
(Tuesday,
2:30pm)
Raquel Bournhonesque, CFSC
Andrea Azuma, Center for Food and Justice
Daniel Block, Chicago State University
Megan Camp, Shelburne Farms
School and community food assessments can be a useful method for examining a community's food assets and needs to inform and spur action. This session will highlight three community food assessments from different geographies and in different phases of development. Workshop presenters will share their experiences around the planning, implementation, and outcomes of community food assessments.
Media Workshop
(Monday, 4:00pm)
Shira Golding, MediaRights
Diane Hatz, Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE)
Sarah Hesterman, Creative Realization
Anna Lappé, Small Planet Institute
Corporate Agribusiness has long used media to shape popular opinion on food
systems and nutrition. But grassroots promoters of sustainable and organic
agriculture, global food security and environmental protection have also
been harnessing the power of video and the Internet to share their visions.
Meet individuals dedicated to using media for social change, watch The
Meatrix and other high-impact shorts, and learn strategies for using video
and the Web for advocacy, community organizing and evaluation.
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Committee
Meetings
Get involved in the Community Food Security Coalition through a committee! The following committees will be meeting at the conference: Policy, Training and Technical Assistance, Outreach and Diversity, International Links, Urban Agriculture, Food and Faith, Food Retail, and the National Farm to School Network organizing meeting.
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CONFERENCE
SCHEDULE
| Saturday
10/16 |
8:00am - 3:00pm |
Dane County Market
Field Trip |
 |
| Sunday
10/17 |
8:00am - 5:30pm |
Chicago Field Trips |
| 8:30am - 6:00pm |
Madison Field Trips |
| 8:30am - 1:00pm |
Half day Field Trips |
| 9:00am - 5:00pm |
All day Short Courses |
| 1:30pm - 5:30pm |
Half day Short Courses |
| 6:00pm |
Buses start to leave
for Reception |
| 6:30pm - 10:00pm |
Taste of Wisconsin
Reception |
|
Monday
10/18
|
7:30am
|
Registration |
| 8:15am
|
Welcome
|
| 8:30am |
A View
From the Bridge Panel |
| 9:30am |
Next Ten Years Roundtable |
| 11:00am |
Workshop
session # 1
Understanding Int'l Trade
Out with the Bad, in with the Good
Avoiding the Local trap
Linking that Land with the Lunch
CFS 101
Oneida workshop
Community University Partnerships
Meetings
Retail Committee
Urban Ag Committee
Regional Organizing |
| 12:30pm |
Lunch on your own |
| 2:00pm |
Workshop
session #2
Starting Buy local Campaigns
Obesity Epidemic
Cultivating School Lunch Network
Growing Farmers
Does the Right to Food Mean?
Cultivating Diversity
Enterprising Women
Meetings
T&TA Committee
Faith Committee |
| 3:30pm |
Break |
| 4:00pm |
Workshop
session #3
Media Workshop
Navigating the Food Web
From Field to Table
Does the Right to Food Mean?
Producing a Local Food Guide
Regional Food Systems Working Group
Food Security Through Financial Sustainability
Super Sized Retail
Media Workshop
Meetings
Farm to School Network
Outreach Committee |
| 5:30pm |
Celebrating a Decade
of CFS Reception |
|
Tuesday
10/19
|
8:00am |
Registration and Breakfast |
| 8:30am |
Business meeting |
| 9:00am |
Town Hall meeting |
| 11:00am |
Workshop
Breakout #4
Food Banks: From Food Charity
Plate Tectonics
State of Urban Agriculture Today
Convergence Minority Ag and CFP
Building Local Wealth by Building LFS
Southside Community Land Trust
What are Planners Doing
Meetings
Policy Committee
International Links Committee |
| 12:30pm |
Luncheon and Plenary
|
| 2:30pm |
Workshop
Breakout #5
Making it Happen
Growing Food, Farms and Nutrition Education
Walking the Talk in Madison
Fundamentals Local and State Policy
Connecting Farms to Health Care
Weaving a Tighter Food Web
School and CFAs
Food security in the UK
Meetings
Urban Ag Committee |
| 4:30pm |
Adjourn |
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LOGISTICS
Food
Meals will showcase food from the Upper Midwest region. Many food
items have been procured directly from local farmers and processors.
What's Included
- Field trips: Light breakfast, lunch, snacks, and transportation
- Full day short courses: Lunch and instructional materials
- Half day short courses: Instructional materials
- Conference: Entrance to all events Sunday evening through
Tuesday, including Sunday and Monday receptions, Tuesday lunch,
and breakfast Monday and Tuesday
Getting there
We recommend Casto Travel as a travel agency skilled in finding
low fares. Contact: Jerry Feldman at 831-426-2350.
For Airport Transportation: http://www.hudsonltd.com
Low-cost Accommodations
The Baymont Inn at 5442 N Lovers Lane Rd, Milwaukee (10 miles
from downtown) is offering rooms for $50 + tax. Call 414-535-1300
soon to make your reservation. Please mention Growing Power
when you make your reservation.
Refunds
No refunds will be given for cancellations requested after
October 1. For cancellations received prior to October 1,
a full refund minus a $50 service charge will be made.
Scholarships and Work Trades
CFSC takes many steps to make our annual conferences more accessible and affordable, including raising funds for conference scholarships and offering a work trade option.
Scholarship information
Scholarships are provided to first time recipients only, with
top priority given to low-income community members actively
working on food security issues and to farmers. Scholarships
are awarded based on need, and the demonstrated ability to apply
what is learned at the conference directly to work on community
food security issues. Based on these criteria, CFSC may award
either full or partial conference registration scholarships.
We encourage people who are interested in scholarships to apply
early. Please understand that we receive many requests for assistance
and can not approve all these requests. CFSC is still trying
to raise additional scholarship funds for this year, including
travel scholarships. We encourage applicants to consider local
sources for assistance with travel funds.
Work trade information
CFSC also offers work trade positions at the conference. You
can work off your registration fee at a rate of $15/hour, up
to a maximum of eight hours ($120 discount). We will try to
accommodate your scheduling preferences so that you can attend
the sessions you are most interested in.
Exhibit Space
This year we will offer an exhibit hall at the Convention Center
for your displays. You may register for an 8 foot table with
Heather Ryan at Town and Country RC&D. Rates for Monday and
Tuesday are as follows:
o Non-profit organizations $100
o For-profit businesses or non-profit selling items $250
o Government agencies and universities $500
Half table rates are also available.
|
Wednesday,
October 20th, 2004. 8am to 4pm 
Community
Project Design: Develop an effective action
plan for your food systems endeavors. Participants
will learn how a well-designed planning process
will create a successful food systems project.