By: PAT MELGARES
K-State Research and Extension
In farm states like Kansas, consumers are never really that far from the fields where many of their foods are grown and raised.
That’s a delicious benefit that many take advantage of at weekend’ farmer’s markets, but Amanda Lindahl says the local food system reaches many more parts of our daily lives than folks sometimes know.
“Traditionally, people think of local food being found in a farmer’s market, but you also find it in your local grocery store,” said Lindahl, the program coordinator with Kansas Local Food Systems at Kansas State University.
The term, ‘local food,’ generally refers to a system in which food is consumed within a short distance of where it was grown or processed. Often, local hospitals, food pantries, schools, restaurants and others purchase food locally that is then served to their customers.
“These are ways that we can keep our food dollars local,” Lindahl said. “Being able to sell in our communities is a great way to conserve that value.”
“In addition,” she adds, “when we’re able to access food in a smaller radius area, we understand that it’s generally going to be a healthier product. It’s going to have more nutrition because it doesn’t have those ‘food miles’ on it, which is another component that we are able to avoid when our food doesn’t have to travel as far.”
Lindahl said many of the issues related to selling foods locally will be presented during the Kansas Local Foods Summit, which will be held July 29-30 at Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina.
This is the second year of the Summit, which is open to anyone wishing to learn more about how local foods can benefit communities around the state. Registration is available online and costs $40 through July 18, and $50 afterwards.
“We love the opportunity to bring together our communities (and) to hear from one another as K-State extension staff that have been supporting local food systems,” Lindahl said. “We think that extension is a good source of information for local food systems, but learning directly from peers and other business owners is really the best way to be inspired as well as feel like you can learn the skills and tools to make something work.”
Lindahl said the theme for this year’s conference is ‘Painting a Vibrant Future,’ which points to the goal of making local systems stronger.
The Tuesday summit agenda includes such topics as grant writing, creating a Farm to Plate initiative, growing Farmer-to-Farmer communities, and Salina food system tours.
Wednesday will be a full day of networking in breakout sessions, building collaborative relationships, and the keynote speaker, Dawn Thilmany from Colorado State University speaking on Navigating Local and Regional Food Systems in Dynamic Times.
More information is available online at www.ksre.k-state.edu/kansaslocalfoods/local-food-summit.
“We’re excited to be bringing in some experts and others who have been doing this food systems work for a while and have built capacity in their communities,” Lindahl said. “We’re also looking forward to seeing how we can grow on their momentum and expand this work even more in Kansas.”