Collaborative Development for Connecting Farms and Community

Join experts in local foods from Nebraska and Iowa as they discuss the opportunities and challenges that exist in today's local food systems.

Connecting communities has always been key to success in growing, marketing and selling, and buying and eating local foods. In eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, the Lincoln/Omaha/Council Bluffs metro area houses many farmers growing food near urban settings, as well as markets for those foods. Farmers sell to restaurants, through farmers' markets and CSAs, and using innovative delivery systems like the Nebraska Food Cooperative. Exciting opportunities arise from the burgeoning interest in eating sustainably and locally produced food, while at the same time challenges still exist.

Our panel will explore how encouraging entrepreneurship and connecting farms and the surrounding communities are key elements to the ongoing success to the local food system in the eastern Nebraska/western Iowa area. Bringing a variety of expertise and personalities to the questions at hand, they will discuss the opportunities and challenges in this important arena, and ask participants to join in the discussion in order to share ideas and make connections between our various experiences.