Future Farms 2006: Farm to Table

It's time again for Future Farms, the Kerr Center's biennial conference.
The theme for 2006 is "Farm to Table."

The conference will bring together an impressive group of speakers who have experience fostering sales of locally-grown food to restaurants, schools, and institutions such as colleges. Future Farms 2006 is scheduled for August 25, from 8:30-4:15 at the Clarion Conference Center in Oklahoma City. Early registration,
by Aug. 21, is just $25.

The speakers' lineup includes farmers, chefs, local food and children's health
advocates and food service/industry representatives from Oklahoma and around the nation.

Questions? Call us at 405.744.6049

Below are detailed just of a few of the speakers and their projects.

Kamyar Enshayan, Director,
University of Northern Iowa Local Foods Project
In 1997, the University of Northern Iowa's Local Food Project began working with three institutional food buyers to help them find ways to make more of their food purchases from local farms and processors. By 2003, fifteen buyers were involved, and had spent a total of over $1 million on local foods.

In 2003, the Project launched a "Buy Fresh, Buy Local," campaign, in cooperation with the Practical Farmers of Iowa and the Food Routes Network. From 2003 to 2004, the number of local buyers grew from 15 to 23, and the total value of local food purchased in one year increased by more than double, from $225,000 to to $465,000.

The Local Food Project initially focused on Black Hawk County and the seven neighboring counties. Since the beginning of the "Buy Fresh, Buy Local," campaign, it has expanded its efforts into an additional seven counties elsewhere in Iowa.

Glyen Holmes and Vonda Richardson,
New North Florida Farmers' Cooperative
In 1995, a group of limited-resource small farmers in the Florida panhandle formed a cooperative with the idea of marketing fresh local produce year-round to area school districts. In its first year, the New North Florida Farmers' Co-op delivered collard greens to a single nearby school district.

Since then, they have expanded the number of school districts that they supply, including some in neighboring Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. They have also diversified their produce offerings to include sweet potatoes, Southern peas, muscadine grapes, strawberries, blackberries and watermelons.

Howard Sacks, Director,
Food for Thought Program, Rural Life Initiative, Kenyon College

* Scheduled speaker David Kline has had to cancel his appearance.
The Food for Thought initiative aims to construct a "sustainable local market for food" in the area of Knox County, Ohio.

The initiative is attempting to increase purchases of local foods by addressing all phases of the food system, including networking between farmers, large buyers, and agricultural experts; forming a local foods council; helping farmers to meet local demands for specific foods; conducting promotional campaigns; and developing educational materials.

Directed by Kenyon College's Rural Life Center, the Food for Thought initiative aims to channel the more than $120 million spent on food in Knox County each year into local sales that guarantee stable profits to farmers, healthy and tasty food to consumers, and a more sustainable farm and food system to all county residents.

Craig Watson, Vice-President
of Quality Assurance and Agriculture Sustainability, SYSCO Corporation
SYSCO is North America's largest supplier of meals prepared away from home, with more than 400,000 food service customers. SYSCO has recently begun throwing some if its immense weight into supporting local food. Watson, who has been with SYSCO since 1981, and has degrees in animal science and meat science, runs their sustainability program.

In New Mexico, for example, the company has set up a statewide marketing network that will allow it to buy from New Mexico farmers, and sell their products to food service businesses in that state and its neighbors. SYSCO projects that 20 to 30% of its produce sales in New Mexico could eventually come from farmers within the state - a potential windfall for local growers.

Farmers are responsible for cleaning, sorting, and packaging their produce, as well as setting up a loading dock for pickups. The company handles the rest, including marketing, a traditional hurdle for individual farmers attempting to increase local food sales. SYSCO has similar projects underway in other states, including Alabama and Minnesota.

Jim Horne, President and CEO, Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture
Under Jim Horne's leadership, the Kerr Center has become an award-winning, innovative institution-a leader in finding creative solutions to the agricultural, environmental and social challenges facing Oklahoma and the nation.
Today the Kerr Center continues its forty-year history of supporting research and educational activities for Oklahomans and people in the region. The Center also provides policy guidance to public servants on the state, regional and national levels.

In 2004, the USDA awarded the Kerr Center the first Community Food Projects grant in Oklahoma. Projects funded by the "Building a Foundation for Community Food Security in Oklahoma" grant include facilitation of farm-to-school programs, educational activities for educators, and a public information campaign on community food security in Oklahoma.

Closer to Home, a forthcoming report on Oklahoma's food system, will include policy recommendations to improve the health of Oklahomans and Oklahoma farms.

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