Neighboring Food Co-op Association (NFCA) is sponsoring a special track on “Co-operatives in the Food System” at the annual NOFA Summer Conference, August 12-14, 2016 at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA.
The workshops, which will take place on Friday, August 12 and Saturday, August 13, 2016 in Campus Center 803, address a variety of ways in which co-operative enterprises are improving the food system, practical steps for farmers interested in marketing to food co-ops, and strategies for applying this unique economic model to help make local food systems work for people with limited food budgets and to grow more economically and environmentally sustainable food systems:
Friday, August 12th:
- 4:00pm: Community Ownership: How Co-ops Help Make Healthy, Local Food More Accessible with Bonnie Hudspeth (Neighboring Food Co-op Association) & Dorian Greggory (Cooperative Fund of New England)
Saturday, August 13th:
- 8:00am: Farmer Co-ops for more Efficient Marketing with Roger Noonan (New England Farmers Union) & Erbin Crowell (Neighboring Food Co-op Association)
- 10:00am: Co-operative Enterprise & Sustainability: Why Go Co-op? with Adam Trott (Valley Alliance of Worker Co-operatives) & Erbin Crowell (Neighboring Food Co-op Association)
- 1:00pm: Real Pickles: The Story of a Co-operative Conversion with Kristin Howard (Real Pickles Co-op)
The Northeast Organic Farming Association’s Summer Conference is the community learning hub of the NOFA universe. We learn, we play, and we enjoy a weekend of skill building, inspiration and entertainment. It is our opportunity to get together and inspire one another during a family friendly weekend with people living the same lifestyle, holding the same vision and working respectively in many ways toward the same goals.
Check out the keynotes: http://nofasummerconference.org/2016keynoter
LEAH PENNIMAN is presenting Ending Racism in Farming and Food: 10 Not-So-Easy Steps.
As a farmer, food justice activist and educator, Leah Penniman is working to dismantle the oppressive structures that misguide our food system. She backs that mission with an incredible work ethic, sharp intellect and a deep passion for racial equality in land ownership and food production. She co-owns Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, NY, is a full time high school science teacher, was a 2015 Fulbright Fellow and co-founded YouthGROW in Worcester, MA.
ANDRE LEU is presenting Regenerative Organic Agriculture – How We Can Reverse Climate Change.
Andre Leu travels the world advocating organic farming practices, education and crop development, and demonstrating how organic agriculture adapts to and mitigates climate change. In his native Australia, he and his family have regenerated 150 acres of degraded land into a biodiverse ecosystem where rainforest plants and a variety of animals now thrive. Andre is the President of the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM) and spoke at the November 2015 Paris climate talks
REGISTER HERE: www.nofasummerconference.org