Community Resources

Free Webinar! Local Food: The Secret Ingredient for Vibrant Downtowns

Whether you are a foodie or a farmer, local food is something to embrace. In small towns, the local food movement is doing more than putting meals on plates—it is nourishing economies by keeping farms vital and downtowns alive.

Join the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design™ for a free hour-long webinar on how farmers’ markets and food co-ops are addressing their local community needs while stimulating downtown development.

Wednesday, June 14, 2017 from 2-3 p.m. Eastern

Register Now!

Speakers:

• Stephanie Bertaina, senior policy analyst, U.S. EPA’s Office of Sustainable Communities. Stephanie provides technical expertise and assistance to communities across the country that are seeking to build vibrant, healthy and sustainable neighborhoods and downtowns. She partners with rural communities and small towns as they tackle challenges related to local food systems, health care, broadband access and disaster resilience. Stephanie co-leads the Local Foods, Local Places program, a multiagency federal initiative that has helped more than 80 cities and towns across the country leverage local food to support local economies and to create walkable, healthy communities.
• Kelly Verel, vice president, Project for Public Spaces (PPS). Kelly Verel is a specialist in the fields of local food and public markets, a career that began in 2003 as an apprentice farmer on an organic farm in Massachusetts. From there, Kelly used her skills and experience to promote Greenmarket, one of the country's largest networks of farmers' markets. For the last 10 years, she has managed all projects at PPS related to the development of public markets. Additionally, Kelly has focused on helping to make local food accessible to all through the development of policies, tools and strategies to expand the customer base of our country's public markets.
• Jason Moore, president, Montana Co-op. Montana Co-op’s mission is to connect consumers and producers to create easy access to local, nutritious, and affordable food along with Montana-made products while promoting a sustainable, nurturing, and thriving community. In 2014, Jason spearheaded the renovation of a vacant building in downtown Polson, Montana, to establish the Co-op as a community center. Programs at the Co-op include a Kids Co-op and coordination with Tech4Good, an initiative to use technology to promote food sustainability on the Flathead Indian Reservation.
• Fran Stoddard, communications consultant, Orton Family Foundation. Fran will serve as moderator for this event. A national award-winning producer of video programs, Fran produced and hosted Vermont Public Television’s weekly “Profile” interview program for more than a decade. She frequently serves as moderator for community events and has served on numerous non-profit boards including the Hunger Free Vermont, the Vermont Journalism Trust, Vermont Mozart Festival, Burlington City Arts, Vermont International Film Foundation and Vermont Public Radio.

 

Want to be an Idea Friendly town?

Everyone can take a picture, right?

Part of the Idea Friendly method is to involve as many people as possible in small but meaningful actions that contribute to a better future for your town.

We're going to share with you how to collect ideas from everyone and unleash the ability of everyone to take action on their ideas.  You're going to learn how to spark a revolution.

Join us Wednesday, June 14 at 12 noon Central Time. 

Register Here!

 

Thanks,

Dave

 

Associate Professor and Community Development Specialist

Department of Agricultural Economics

Oklahoma State University

323 Agricultural Hall

Stillwater, OK 74078-6025

405-744-6170

405-744-8210 – fax

http://rd.okstate.edu

Find grants and professional development resources on my blog
http://okextdevres.blogspot.com/