Adirondack Food System Network Welcome Session

Welcome to the 5th Annual Food Justice Summit, feed back: meeting in the middle! Join us, as we kick-off the Summit with a brief overview of the Adirondack Food System Network and the work of its members to address food security, equity, farmer resiliency, and much more. This session will help us set the stage for our expansive line of presenters and provide context for the work of the Food Systems Network and food related matters throughout the North Country region.

Keynote Presentation

We are facing a global climate crisis. Agriculture and food production have contributed to this problem, but they can also play a significant role in the solution. In this keynote, Anastasia Volkova, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder of Regrow Ag, will discuss how to adjust common agricultural practices to mitigate climate change, and why it’s up to us — across all aspects of the food system — to make sustainable agriculture ubiquitous and accessible for all.

AFSN Lunch Discussion

Join us during your lunch for an informal networking opportunity with members of the Adirondack Food System Network, conference participants and presenters, and community members to discuss challenging issues facing our regional food system and strategize action for change. This is a great way to learn more about the work of the Food Systems Network and how you can get involved. Come to chat and hear from your community!

Improving Food Security by Sparking a Composting Revolution in NY and Beyond

Soil productivity, and therefore soil fertility is essential for productive food systems. Additionally, producing food by lowering input costs helps farmers produce food more sustainably.

Creating and using biologically complete compost improves soil fertility and soil health. When farms produce more compost than is needed for their production systems then they can sell that compost, benefitting the surrounding community and creating another revenue stream for their farm.

Compared to other states there is a dearth of composting programs, composting knowledge, and compost markets. Compost for Good (CfG) is actively involved in changing that. Through numerous grants, CfG is helping entrepreneurs, farmers, communities, and organizations create or improve composting programs, and helping the create a manufacturing industry for creating novel in-vessel composters in Upstate NY and beyond.

Join us for a deep dive into how sparking a composting revolution in the North Country can significantly improve food security, create jobs, sustain farms, lower food production costs, and sequester carbon from the atmosphere.

Using Cooperative Promotion to Strengthen Local Food System in the Adirondack Region

Adirondack Harvest was formed in 2001 by a group of farmers and community members with an understanding that to strengthen the local agricultural system in the Adirondacks, a professional cooperative marketing platform was needed, and it should reflect the collective vision of the many folks growing, making, and selling local food and agricultural products in the region. Today, thanks to recent grant funding, Adirondack Harvest is able to build on its mission of cooperative outreach using a comprehensive marketing and outreach strategy to better promote local agricultural businesses in the Adirondack region. The center of this effort is to increase the use of a comprehensive digital database, where people can find farms and small businesses. To do so, we identify and fill gaps in information, resources, and content to help guide and inspire action. This strategy is otherwise known as “content marketing”. This presentation will highlight specific action food systems advocates, communicators, and leaders can take to expand the impact of their work in food systems with cooperative outreach.

Emerging Opportunities to Maximize USDA Anti-Hunger Programs, From Local Outreach to Federal Advocacy

Join Hunger Solutions New York to learn about several emerging opportunities to expand access to USDA’s under-tapped nutrition assistance programs, including SNAP, WIC, school meals, summer meals, and child-care meal programs. We will share upcoming advocacy opportunities, including anti-hunger priorities for the next federal Farm Bill and Child Nutrition Reauthorization; new networks and strategies for connecting older adults with SNAP; new resources to help schools, child-care providers, and summer programs reach more children with healthy meals; local and statewide efforts to improve WIC participation, and more. Engage with peers in guided discussions to identify top priorities, challenges, and actionable strategies to leverage these emerging opportunities and expand food access in the North Country and beyond.

Equitable Financing of Local Food Systems: A Conversation about Access to Capital and Investment Opportunities

Our food system is complex; it starts with production and includes processing, distribution, consumption, and food waste management. The financing apparatus that serves this system needs strengthening. For instance, while small-scale food producers represent the foundation of this system, many of them have difficulty accessing capital needed to scale up for greater reach and profit. This is especially true for businesses owned by Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color, as well as women. This session will introduce an exciting new initiative in the Adirondacks, explore the role of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in financing businesses that conventional banks typically will not support, and open a conversation about local needs and opportunities for capital and impact investing. In this session we hope to have a dialogue between those with insights into the financing needs of farmers and those with access to money to lend.

Farming Smarter, Not Harder for Increased Resilience

Have an allergic reaction to business? Want to work less and make more money? Wonder where all the money comes and goes? You can be the best marketer, grower, innovator, or hard worker, but if your farm doesn’t succeed financially, that all goes out the window.

Learn about your farm’s profit centers- which parts of your farm make the most money and which may lose money. Learn about efficient farm business analysis, and financial tips for success. Strong farm financials are key for resiliency.

Bringing Our Food System to Life Online

In 2021, the local foods department at the Extension Learning Farm connected with audiences in a variety of virtual ways. Flip will explain the planning and execution of shifting their seasonal cooking classes, Celebrating Local Food, from in-person to virtual. She will also share details of the livestream Fruition Local Food Showcase, that featured 3 farmers or food entrepreneurs each month for a live conversation. In all ventures there are lessons to be learned, and Flip will close out the session answering questions and reflecting on ways to improve the quality, accessibility, and interactivity of the programming.

AFSN Lunch Discussion

Join us for a farmer-focused informal lunch conversation today! Farmers are the foundation of the food system and have a great deal of knowledge and experience to share. Given the broad variety of Summit presentations, there will be much to discuss and review!

Cultural Competency in Food Justice

Food sovereignty means understanding the community you are serving in all ways. Food is not only nourishment for the body, it is so much more. This session will explore ways to develop programming that acknowledges cultural and systemic reasons for lack of resources and how to address those issues with dignity and respect to the culture of the community.

The Many Wonders of Small Grains – A 40 Year Adventure

This workshop with cover many aspects of small grains (wheat, barley, oats, triticale, rye, spelt). From planting and growing, to harvesting, grazing, eating, cover-cropping, and distilling, there is no better way to improve soil health, farm profitability, human diets, animal nutrition, and quality of life. From seed to mouth, we will attempt to cover it all including delicious recipes and fun stories.

Fair Food Pricing: Equity in Access

AdkAction’s Fair Food Pricing program is working towards a future in which Adirondack farmers can feed the region, and local families have affordable access to local food. The program overcomes the food access barriers of affordability and proximity, seeks to encourage environmentally beneficial food production practices, and is driving innovation at the nexus of food production and food assistance.

In the first year of the Fair Food Pricing program pilot, AdkAction enrolled more than 200 participants and provided more than $40,000 in local foods subsidies, helping participants purchase over $130,000 worth of food from more than 20 farmers and vendors in the program. AdkAction also piloted a Fair Share program, fully subsidizing Community Supported Agriculture farm shares for 23 families for 20 weeks. In 2022, AdkAction aims to digitize the subsidy program, reach 1,000 participating households, and scale the Fair Shares to 100 farm shares.

Following a brief overview of the Fair Food program, AdkAction will moderate a panel of both growers and consumers who have participated in this pilot year. The session will be dialogue-focused to explore ways to increase food access in our local system and ways partners, farmers, and consumers can participate.