Local Food Topic of April 15 Conference
"Local Food: Strategies for Jobs and Health" will take place Friday, April 15, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Dana Conference Center on The University of Toledo's Health Science Campus.
The daylong event will address several topics related to the growing local food movement.
"The lineup of speakers for this conference is incredible," said Paula Ross, a research associate in the Urban Affairs Center and the conference's primary organizer. "With the help of our partners and sponsors, we're able to offer information and inspiration to everyone in our community who grows food, sells food or eats food.
"The conference and our local food initiative are called 'Strategies for Jobs and Health' because what we eat and where it comes from have a major impact both on our health and on our local economy," she said. "We hope that by bringing together local, state and national experts with faculty and students from UT and with a range of stakeholders from the broader community, we can create more opportunities for collaboration."
Ken Meter, a noted food system analyst, will give the opening keynote address, "Local Foods: Building Health, Wealth, Connections and Capacity for Ohio."
He is president of the Crossroads Resource Center, a nonprofit organization in Minneapolis that works with communities to foster local self-determination.
"Building a local food system will require knowledge bases that ensure that community-based food initiatives can rely on the best technology and expertise available and can effectively measure progress in creating a more sustainable Ohio economy," Meter said.
Other speakers will include:
• Dr. Marcia Caton Campbell, assistant professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, who will talk about national, state and local policy. She is a staff member at the Center for Resilient Cities, which works with citizens, nonprofits and government partners to create healthy environments.
• Amanda Archibald, a registered dietician, who has revolutionary ideas about food, food choices and food education. She will address health and hunger. She founded Field to Plate, a visionary food education company that emphasizes learning more about food choices.
• Phil Cooley, co-owner of Slows Bar B Q in Detroit, who will give the lunch address. He is working to revitalize the Motor City.
Sessions will cover entrepreneurial opportunities, planning and land use, health and hunger, federal and local policy, and area food projects. Details, including registration information, are at uac.utoledo.edu/localfood/localfoodstrategies.htm.
Cost is $20 and $5 for students and includes lunch.
The conference is sponsored by The University of Toledo, the UT Urban Affairs Center, ProMedica Health Systems, The Andersons, Local Initiatives Support Corp., Toledo Botanical Garden, Metroparks of the Toledo Area and Toledo Grows.
For more information, contact Ross at [email protected] or 419.530.3595.
Press Release Contact Name: Joanne Mary Gray
Press Release Contact Email: [email protected]
Organization Name: University of Toledo