Building Community Food Webs

Organic farms can be potent community builders. By pursuing healthy farming practices, we create new fertility and lower environmental costs, reducing financial flows away from rural communities. Yet farming is a fragile occupation unless community members support farm families. That includes buying or bartering for food. This workshop will focus on how community foods effort have effectively woven webs that connect farmers and eaters. Ken Meter will start with highlights from his book, Building Community Food Webs, that features 8 of the most advanced food networks in the US: Montana; Hawai‘i; Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona; Northeast Indiana; Southeast Ohio; Colorado; and Minnesota. Then Kristy Lynn Allen will describe how the St. Croix Valley Food Alliance (SCVFA) in Northwest Wisconsin builds connections with those who live near their farms, augmenting their metro customer base.

Year: 2023
By: Kristy Lynn Allen, Amy Bacigalupo, and Ken Meter