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April 6 Workshop to Focus on Development of Food Co-ops

03/20/2013

The first in a series of workshops focused on "Food Hubs and Co-ops: How local family farms can feed our communities" will be offered April 6, 2013, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. in the Highland Community College's Klinefelter Barn, 1774 230th St., Hiawatha, KS. The workshop will provide people who grow and enjoy locally produced food with information on how to form partnerships and food cooperatives. The workshop is being organized by the Kansas Farmers Union and Glacial Hills RC&D with other partners and co-sponsors.

Part one of the series, "How to Start an Online Food Cooperative" will be held April 6, and a second workshop exploring "Organization of Food Hubs" will be announced soon.

Nationally known speakers will participate, sharing the success stories from their regions.

Confirmed presenters include:

Kim Barker, producer and founding board member, Oklahoma Food Cooperative

Darryl L. Birkenfeld, director, Ogallala Commons

Chris Schmidt & Chris Sramek, founding board members, High Plains Food Coop

Bob Mailander, former director, Rocky Mountain Cooperative Development Center

Also on the schedule are Vincent Amanor-Boadu, associate professor of agribusiness economics and management at Kansas State University and Dan Nagengast, Lawrence, KS farmer and former tomato processing co-op board member.

A break out session will allow individual discussion and Q & A with presenters. The Glacial Hills Food Center, operated by Glacial Hills RC&D, will be highlighted. Producers can rent the food center's commercial kitchen for food processing. Jeff Downing, general manager of the Midwest Regional Agency, will cover general and product liability insurance for direct market farms. The Brown County Healthy Foods Coalition will provide an update on its Postage Stamp Production Project.

A chuck wagon lunch and refreshments will be served and a registration fee of $25.00 will be charged to cover expenses, food, and handouts.

Sponsoring organizations are Kansas Farmers Union, Kansas Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (KS-SARE), Glacial Hills RC&D, Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops (KSCAAC), Kansas Rural Center, Brown County Healthy Foods Coalition, Glacial Hills Food Center, and Highland Community College.

For Online registration, click here.

Questions? Contact: Mary Howell - kfu.mary@gmail.com or Gary Satter - gary.satter@glacialhillsrcd.com

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