One hundred and thirty leaders from across the nation gathered for just over two days in order to accelerate the nation's development of sustainable foodsheds that offer fresh, healthy, regional and sustainable food to all people regardless of income level or location.
The goals of the Summit were to:
Enhance knowledge, thinking, and action as leaders scale up their efforts to new levels in order to serve larger and larger segments of the country.
Provide public and private funders with data to help them better help those working on the ground to make change.
Specific topics were examined using three plenary panels and 12 case studies, they included:
distribution systems that feature product aggregation and source identification
farm to school initiatives
farmers markets innovations
improved regulatory coordination
land tenure developments in urban, peri-urban, and rural communities
new direct sales venues
new farmer training programs
the foodshed: language and conceptual frameworks to support their development
ROC staff and network members presented a bounty of concepts, information and ideas while they emerged at the Summit via this web page, Twitter, ComFood, and Facebook.
This event happened because the private sector joined the public and philanthropic sectors to provide funds and human capital. We wish to thank Visa Inc., our platinum sponsor; Hearst Ranch and The California Endowment our gold sponsors; and Bank of America and Straus Organic Creamery our silver sponsors; and Frog Hollow Farm, Urban Village and Whole Foods Markets in Berkeley and Oakland for their contributions of delicious, local and sustainable food. We are grateful for and encouraged by their commitment to accelerated development of foodsheds and improved healthy food access. Of course, Root of Change is greatful for our partners at USDA AMS.
