Leadership for Local Foods

Participant Sharing

ND Local Foods Leadership TrainingNC SARE Grant

Abby Gold, Megan Myrdal & Glenn MuskeNDSU Extension

BISMAN Community

Food Coop

Tyler & Heidi Demars

BISMAN Coop Timeline• October 2011 - First Meeting • January 2012 – Visioning Session• June 2012 - APUC grant awarded to complete

feasibility study• May 2013 - Feasibility Study Complete• June 2013 – Member Drive Started• August 2013 – 2nd APUC grant awarded for

legal services, technical support, and to hire an outreach coordinator.• 600 Member-Owners invested as of August

2014

Tomato Bombs were dropped around town to spread the word about the co-op

Young chefs making food art on

Food Day Oct 24th, 2013

Promote Local Foods through

Harvest Festival

Vaughn Hammond

Local Foods Program for Native Americans

in the Fargo Area

Jaclynn Davis Wallette

Farmers Showcase at Local Foods Economic Development SummitSue Balcom• We need to support farmers meeting economic developers

and encourage scaling up through economic development• Summit: April 14 and 15, 2014 – the applications will be

released soon, postcards went out Nov. 25• Outcomes: To showcase CSAs, farmers markets, food hubs,

aggregation, cooperative models and support the ND local food system as a tool for economic development in small communities — and large.

• We hope putting a face on the farmer will encourage more JDA and Economic Development offices to support projects such as light processing and food hubs to assist with the distribution of locally grown and value added agriculture products.

Sustainable Gluten Free Crops in Central NDGlen Philbrick• Rational: To promote locally grown gluten free foods in

central ND and prove that ND can sustainably grow gluten free foods.

• How Did it Go? I handed out all recipe cards printed, plus extra printed at BisMarket. The tour had 20 participants. I had several discussions with people about gluten free foods such as quinoa and amaranth.

• Main Outcomes: Most people I have met were not aware quinoa and amaranth could be grown in ND. Customers were excited they will have a local option for gluten free grains.

• Future Plans: Upon the cleaning of the quinoa and amaranth, I will begin marketing them. I plan on hosting at least one class this winter concerning how to cook gluten free.

Cross-Pollination Tour to Farm to Table Co-opStephanie Blumhagen

• Farm to Table Co-op in Glendive, Montana is building a local food system in Eastern Montana and Western North Dakota.

• The point of the cross-pollination trip is to take a van-load of Local Food leaders from eastern and central North Dakota to see what Farm to Table has accomplished, learn from their experience and share with them what we’ve learned in our own efforts to build local food systems. Like the bees that help our fields and gardens flourish by moving pollen from plant to plant, we will help local food systems across the region flourish through the exchange of knowledge and ideas.

• Tour Dates: March 20-21, 2015

Keep it Local, Keep it Fresh: A Local Foods Initiative for Eddy County and BeyondRachel Brazil & Jill Louters

• Rational: To help build a visible and accessible network of local food producers and consumers in our community.

• How Did it Go? Still in the works. We have found significant consumer interest in local food. Identifying potential producer sources, has been more difficult. We're working toward providing some beginning resources to "start the conversation."

• Main Outcomes: Facilitated meeting determining the interest of community members regarding local foods, a Facebook group page in which we can share and request information, a local food and agriculture resource collections at the public and school libraries.

• Future Plans: Organize field trips for potential local food producers to see season extension and pasture grazing practices in action, host a farm to school training for food producers interested in selling to the New Rockford- Sheyenne School District.

Farm to School Awareness and Marketing Campaign.Jonathon Moser • Progress: To be implemented Spring of 2015.• Main Objective: To increase awareness about Forager

Farm and Jamestown Public School District's involvement in ND Farm to School. We will be designing and distributing informational marketing materials to schools. We will also be hosting on the farm tours for students from Jamestown Schools.

Heart of Dakota Local Foods Educational WagonIrene Graves

Project Name: Heart of Dakota Local Foods Educational WagonRational: To Educate the public about Local FoodsHow Did it Go? GREAT• 182 surveys• 379 direct contacts• Handed out over 1,500 publications and information sheets• Ponies brought in diverse crowdMain Outcomes:• There is a great need for education• Gardeners do not see there foods as commercial item will give it

away but not sell.• Local Foods – interpreted as a brand name not a locally grown food.Future Plans: • Will repeat the process• More invitations than available weekends – do as many as possible

Heart of Dakota Local Foods Educational Wagon

Extend & Enhance Farmers Markets

During Off-Season

Hampton & Cynthia Spencer

Morning Joy Farm KitchenAnnie Carlson• Rational: To value-add our farm products and provide consumers

with healthy, whole food ready to eat options• How Did it Go? Slowly, painfully slowly. But as we come to the

end of the building phase, the marketing phase is taking over.• Main Outcomes: Be patient. Building anything takes 3 times

longer and cost twice as much as you thought it would. Our customers are excited for us. But all of them cook so our new kitchen offerings have meant we need to increase our marketing contacts to new groups.

• Future Plans: Now we focus on marketing and product development.

I'm so thankful to have attended the Stockman Grass Farmer Marketing School. Now I am armed with lots of great marketing tools and advice.

United Tribes Technical College

Winter Market

Jana Millner

Participant Comments from December 2014 TrainingGathered via Survey Monkey

• When asked what they felt was the most useful part of the program, one participant responded: “I liked seeing what others are doing around the state and how I might use their ideas to add to my own. It is also very useful to learn where and how to get funding for projects.”

• When asked what information they plan to use from the training and how they plan to use it, one participant responded: “As an Extension Agent, I plan to use the information from this training to get my own local foods project going in my county.”

• In response to how they plan to use the training information, another participant responded that they are “Thinking about ‘education’ in a broader sense and finding ways to share in creative and meaningful ways.”