Please join us! Food Summit - March 16th, 2023

The Rogue Valley Food System Network (RVFSN) and partners are excited to announce the Rogue Valley Community Food Solutions Summit on March 16th for an all day gathering, 9am to 4:30pm, at the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center! 

 

The Food Solutions Summit will kick-off a year-long effort resulting in an updated Jackson County Community Food Assessment last done in 2013. The Summit provides a forum for anyone involved in food systems work in the Rogue Valley and surrounding area to contribute in a meaningful way to the Rogue Valley Food Assessment process by sharing your knowledge, expertise, and vision for the future of food and farm systems.  

 

Join your colleagues for an engaging day of building relationships, networking, identifying key gaps and challenges, celebrating successes and identifying next steps as we collectively write the story of the state of the RV Food System.

 

The day will include a Keynote with Sydney DeLuna of the Oregon Community Food System Network as well as three breakout group discussion opportunities, facilitated by community leaders, in the following areas: 

 

• Ag Inputs (Soil, Water, Industry Resources)
• Food Systems Infrastructure 
• (Manufacturing, processing, storage and distribution)
• Production (farming, ranching, fisherfolk)
• Consumer Demand and Marketing 
• (includes Agritourism)
• Nutrition (Education and Access)
• Food Access and Food Insecurity 
• Emergency Food Resources and Resiliency
• Advocacy, Outreach and Education 
• Labor and Employment 
• Food Waste Management

 

REGISTRATION at: https://rvfoodsystem.org/summit

 

Cost: $45, $40 for existing Rogue Valley Food System Network members

Light breakfast, lunch, and coffee are included. Network Happy Hour to Follow! 

 

Scholarships and volunteer opportunities are available. Email ella@rvfoodsystem.org for more information.

 

OSU Extension Service prohibits discrimination in all its programs, services, activities, and materials. Accommodation requests related to a disability should be made 7 days prior to Sandy O’Neill 541-776-7371, sandy.oneill@oregonstate.edu

 

Thanks to our sponsors: Jackson Care Connect, AllCare Health, Oregon Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Program, United Way of Jackson County, Oregon Food Bank, Oregon State University Extension Service, Rogue Creamery, Organically Grown Co, Medford Co-op and Ashland Food Co-op.

 

ABOUT RVFSN:

RVFSN formed after the publication of the 2013 Report with a purpose to serve as a support organization working to build bridges between the distinct food sectors and identify areas of greater collaboration in the local and regional food system.  

 

For the updated assessment process and Food Summit we have partnered with key organizations to build a cross sector steering committee.  We are grateful to be partnering with: All Care Health, Jackson Care Connect, ACCESS, Josephine County Food Bank, Southern Oregon University, Oregon State University Extension and Small Farms Program, Department of Environmental Quality,  1000 Friends of Oregon, All in For Health, RV Farm to School, Rogue Creamery, and Josephine County Farm Collective, the entire RVFSN Council, (see full list here), as well as many more community partners and allies.  

 

LEARN MORE:

The Food Solutions Summit will publically launch the update of the 2023 Jackson/Josephine County Food Assessment. Jackson and Josephine counties completed their last community food assessments respectively in 2013 and 2012. While significant progress has been made to strengthen the local food system, the region has also seen dramatic shifts to its environment, local food systems, demographics, and stakeholder organizations since the last assessments.  The Steering Committee has been meeting for the last two years doing the groundwork of seeking funding, building relationships and aggregating currently known information and data. 

 

The Rogue Valley Community Food Assessment will serve as a road map for key food systems players, from production to waste. Its purpose is to sustain the work of building resilient and economically viable food systems by initiating collaboration between municipal government, local agencies, educational  institutions, businesses, hospitals, producers and local residents. The final assessment and Food Action Plan will be accessible and usable to all. 

 

MORE ABOUT THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Sydney DeLuna is a community food system consultant with experience developing large and complex kitchen and food warehousing facilities including a working urban food hub, The Redd. She works on both producer and buyer sides of local agriculture and is the Oregon Food Hub Network Coordinator for the Oregon Community Food System Network.