3rd Annual Preconference Workshop:
Intention and Innovation towards Healthy, Equitable Food Systems
As past New Partners conferences have highlighted, communities across the country are recognizing food systems as critical elements of efforts to promote healthy, equitable and resilient places. The most innovative and promising strategies involve partnerships to bridge gaps: they align community-based initiatives with local and regional policies and plans; they engage local residents and businesses in designing systems that best serve them; they understand food access and affordability are components of economic growth as well as public health; they link urban and rural places.
This year, participants have three special opportunities to kick off their 2016 New Partners experience learning from and with grassroots leaders, policymakers and government staff, researchers, planners, health advocates, funders and other public and private stakeholders engaged in crosscutting food system work:
Preconference Workshop
On Wednesday afternoon, by joining a preconference workshop held from 1:30 – 6:00 pm. Featuring local and national leaders, the agenda will include a mix of general and small group sessions exploring the food and smart growth nexus through policy and practice perspectives on food justice, land use, production, infrastructure, economic development and public health. A hosted networking reception for participants will follow the workshop from 6:00 – 8:00 pm; preregistration and a $25 fee are required.
How the Work of Growing Resilient, Sustainable Food Systems Can Nourish Smart-Growth Initiatives
Thursday morning, grab your coffee and join a bonus session open to all New Partners attendees and featuring representatives of collaborative networks working to grow accessible, economically viable and healthy food systems for communities across Oregon. You’ll hear from networks operating at different scales and in different stages of development, each with their own unique intentions, strengths and challenges. Consider how their lessons learned around organizing frameworks, community engagement and measurement strategies may be applicable to smart growth initiatives in other contexts.
Mobile Workshop
And Thursday afternoon, hop on the bus for a mobile workshop touring sites of local food projects. This tour will explore how food system development efforts at different scales are increasing food access and supporting entrepreneurship in historically disadvantaged urban neighborhoods. Participants will visit with three sites in Southeast Portland where organizations are addressing food system challenges through urban farming, community kitchen business incubators, specialty retail, and development of a food processing and distribution hub. This tour is open to all New Partners participants, though preregistration and a $38 fee are required (includes refreshments).
Support for these activities is made possible by the Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems, through funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Food & Community program.
