NGFN Webinars
Our monthly NGFN interactive webinars give you the opportunity to learn and connect with on-the-ground practitioners and experts. Below you'll find archives of past webinars available for viewing, and information and registration for upcoming webinars.
Please note: NGFN webinars take place the third Thursday of each month, 3:30-4:45 ET (unless otherwise noted).
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2010
- Feb 11, 1pm ET:
BONUS: Building the Supply of Healthy Foods – Experiences and Tools from the Field - Register Now! - January: Community Food Enterprise
2009
- December: An Introduction to the National Farm to School Network
- October: Food Safety - An Interactive Briefing
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August: Innovations in Value Chain Infrastructure-Red Tomato
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June: Aggregation/Distribution: Appalachian Sustainable Development
BONUS WEBINAR:
Feb 11, 2010: Building the Supply of Healthy Foods – Experiences and Tools from the Field
Demand for organic and sustainably produced food has been growing rapidly for nearly two decades. In the past several years there has been a comparable surge in demand for locally or regional produced food. For many regions of the country, however, building a supply to meet that growing demand has proven to be very challenging. In response, a number of innovative organizations and businesses have launched or expanded “value chains” to increase the supply and availability of healthy, sustainably produced foods in their region.
In this webinar, NGFN Advisory Council member Anthony Flaccavento will share the results of a survey of these innovative value chain organizations, highlighting common challenges and strategies employed, as well as unique approaches some have developed. A sampling of the experiences of nearly two dozen groups, in Appalachia, the Northeast, the Midwest and other regions will be offered in the form of short case studies, and a recently completed Tool kit for building value chains will be briefly described. There will be approximately 35 – 40 minutes of presentations, followed by 20 – 25 minutes of Q & A through the webinar.
The National Good Food Network and the Central Appalachian Network are co-sponsoring this webinar with support from the Ford Foundation’s Institute for International Education.
February 11, 1pm - 2pm Eastern Time
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January 21, 2010: Community Food Enterprise
To many, local food is exclusively about proximity, with consumers demanding higher quality food grown, caught, processed, cooked, and sold by people they know and trust. But an equally important part of local food is local ownership of food businesses. An innovative recent report looks at the full range of locally owned businesses involved in food, whether they are small or big, whether they are primary producers or manufacturers or retailers, whether their focus is local or global markets. We call these businesses community food enterprises (CFEs).
A detailed field report on the performance of 24 CFEs, half inside the United States and half international, the project shows that CFEs represent a huge diversity of legal forms, scales, activities, and designs. Are CFEs replicable? The authors believe the answer is “yes,” especially if the successful strategies revealed in their study are widely communicated and adopted.
To that end, John Fisk, Director of the Wallace Center at Winrock International and CFE co-project director will lay the foundation of the discussion by explaining the origins and underlying assumptions of the study. Lead author and co-director of the study, Michael Shuman, Director of Research and Economic Development at Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), will present the major findings of the work, with a particular emphasis on scaling up good food domestically. To ground the theory with the practical, Mike Lorentz, visionary co-owner of Lorentz Meats (one of the featured CFEs), will present the story of how it is possible to be highly successful while serving the seemingly competing needs of large and small ranchers. In addition to other high praise, his meat processing plant’s commitment to transparency and humane slaughter earned commendation in Michael Pollen’s book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.”
Other Webinar Resources
Slides
- John Fisk: CFE context and assumptions
- Michael Shuman: Major CFE project findings
- Mike Lorentz: A case study
- Marty Gerencer: NGFN + CFE
In-Webinar Written Q&A Transcript
Q: Can I please have a contact for the Southeast? (Atlanta) - I missed this.
A: We don't have CFEs in Atlanta, but of course there's Association of Cooperatives in Albany, GA
Q: where did the Detroit numbers and graphic come from?
A: Go to the web site of the Fair Food Network, and you'll be able to download it. Or e-mail me at shuman@igc.org
Q: Well I will, but I've also been involved in the loans they needed and have reviewed the finances when they went out for money. I'm surprised you use them for your example when there are so many other excellent and financially solid coops out there.
A: Also keep in mind that we chose our case studies three years ago, and even then we didn't choose companies based on financial strength.
Q: How can we get these case studies? I missed that part.
A: All case studies, the full book, as well as other resources are available at http://www.communityfoodenterprise.org/
Q: this is a really simplistic explanation of the retail cooperative structure - way simple. Weavers' Street has financial problems due to large losses and small capital base.
A: Actually, Weavers Street had a very good last year relative to its competition. It's also expanding its capital base with further contributions from its 12,000 members.
Q: That may be so but they would be out of business if not for emergency inflows of $$ from other members of the cooperative network around the country. What do you mean relative to competition? Do you mean sales increases? Only part of the story.
A: Not true. You should look at their annual report. They had a reserve to cover last year's toughest months. But still, they need to replenish their capital locally
Q: I'm confused about the international Cargill example. Are there values inherent in international large CFEs, e.g., fair wages, health and safety training, other values to protect against exploitation?
A: It's fair to say that many of the international case studies were chosen for reasons besides there social performance, and then we discovered what they in fact were doing -- often an impressive bunch of activities. In the case of Cargills, it has worked hard to create markets for low-income Sri Lankens and works with its farmers to improve their water and energy efficiency. It also runs a terrific program training entrepreneurs inside the company....
Q: or other granting organizations who are interested in supporting initiatives like these?
A: Keep in mind that one reason we focused on ENTERPRISES was to get beyond the very limited coffers of foundations. In all of the enterprises we studied, except Appalachian Sustainable Development, private capital was the sole source -- sometimes a for-profit investors, sometimes as coop members, sometimes as government investors (in the Malawi example). That said, there is a network of about 30 or so foundations within Environmental Grantmakers that focus on food. Kellogg and Gates are the biggest players, but there are a bunch of smaller foundations operating regionally and locally.
Q: Are you aware of and can you post on your website USDA Grants available for projects such as these? (if you haven't already - sorry if I missed that).
A: yes we are aware we can do that . it has been a function of time. There are a number of loan and grant programs that fit.
Q: re: domestic cases in study, why are so many east/midwest? Alternatively, why so few west of the Mississippi? No Pacific NW, either? Was this a methodological choice or just happenstance?
A: With hundreds of choices and a variety of critieria it was hard to really balance geography. Also enterprises had to be willing to open ttheir books to us and spend some time being interviewed etc. In short they had to see it as an opportunity and not a burden.
Q: Somewhat ironic that the Gates Foundation would be considered to be environmental with regard to their food related activities. Their proposed agenda in Africa is anything but environmentally or socially beneficial or sustainable.
A: The foundation is not of one mind (though it seems that way to the outside), and our work will hopefully provide further support to those inside who want the community enterprise approach to equal the new-green-revolution approach...
Q: re: climate effects, don't conflate local with less emissions. All things being equal that would likely be true, but transportation methods are the main effect, and the local networks could reasonably be expected to use smaller, less efficient, more polluting trucks. Shipping miles are not a great measure: life cycle assessments should be highlighted as appropriate tools.
A: Good point. As with all our systems, local transport needs to be ""greened"" based upon the service it is designed to provide: local distribution. Right now to meet this need we are not using an optimal system but what is left after the system has been created for national distribution. "
Q: In Metro KC, GNFF - a founding member of NGFN is also working on food access.
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December 17, 2009: An Introduction to the National Farm to School Network
The National Farm to School Network aims to bring local and regional food directly from farms to school cafeterias across the country. Learn the latest about the important and synergistic efforts of one of the NGFN’s new partner organizations.
The webinar will cover key aspects of farm to school initiatives that are getting more good food to more students, all over the country. Leaders of the National Farm to School organization will describe their strategies, the network and the services they provide and update us on recent Congressional activity. A representative from USDA’s farm to school “tactical team” will talk about how they are supporting farm to school efforts and how USDA has prioritized the farm to school concept.
You’ll also hear a practical case study of the creation and expansion of a farm to school program presented by the lead of that program—once a skeptic! If you want to know more about how you can be involved in this burgeoning avenue for scaling up good food, join us.
Other Webinar Resources
Slides
- Anupama Joshi - National Farm to School Overview
- Megan Lott - Policy Overview / Update
- Loren LaCorte - Farm to School Tactical Teams
- Doug Davis - Burlington, VT Case Study
- Steve Warshawer - Food Safety
Links
- farmtocafeteriaconference.com
- communityfoodenterprise.org
- Create your profile on ngfn.org
- contact@ngfn.org
- www.farmtoschool.org
- http://fns.usda.gov/cnd
In-Webinar Written Q&A Transcript
Q: Who comprise the Farm to School Tactical teams in California?
A: There isn't a USDA farm to school tactical team in CA, it is a national team based in DC; however there is a great group in CA: www.cafarmtoschool.org
Q: What role do school gardens play? Any significant contribution?
A: Yes to be blunt. We have research.
A. In terms of getting gardens going in your schools, here are some resources that will be helpful:
1. The California School Garden Network: csgn.org and schoolgardenwizard.org
(excellent resources for garden-based curriculum and for getting started with school gardens)2. There is a Youth Garden Grants Program through the National Gardening Association, where you can apply for mini garden grants for individual schools: http://assoc.garden.org/grants/
3. America the Beautiful Fund: http://www.america-the-beautiful.org/. A non-profit group receives seed donations from major seed companies. Sets of 50 packets of vegetables, flowers and herbs are available for the cost of postage and handling.
Q: What is the name of the Chicago food service provider just mentioned? Thanks!
A: Chartwells Thompson
Q: It would appear repetitive to have the National F2S Network AND a USDA generated F2S website. Will they be coordinated efforts?
A: There may be some overlap, but as Anupama [Joshi] mentioned, USDA will work closely with the National Farm to School Network to ensure that the websites are complementary to each other.
A: The Network and the USDA are coordinating efforts, but this question still needs to be answered.
Q: Is Virginia one of those 24 states to have passed legislation supporting farm to school programs?
A: Yes it is - check out a listing of all states on www.farmtoschool.org
To search for Virginia state legislation: http://leg1.state.va.us/
SB 797 (Chapter #352 of 2007 Virginia Laws)
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+SB797ER
SB 797 authorizes the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services to create a website that promotes Virginia agricultural products to educational institutions. The website should include information such as farmers’ contact information, amount and types of produce available.
The website is available at: http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/vagrown/index.shtml
SJ 347 (2007)
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+ful+SJ347ER
SJ 347 authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry and the Secretary of Education to establish a Farm to School Task Force that will develop a plan for implementing a farm to school program in Virginia.
The task force will study methods for providing information to the Virginia Department of Education, interested schools divisions and institutions of higher ed.
Q: Are there any instances of institutions of higher ed supporting or helping to start up a farm to school program at a local elementary school?
A: There are several out there - higher ed institutions and universities involved in a partnership with other local orgs to start up a farm to school program.
Q: Is there a posted list of current GAP certified small farmers by region?
A: I think that the best source of this information may be your particular state department of agriculture...there is no broad list since there is no unified GAP program.
Q: are there many schools in Georgia participating in farm to school?
A: Yes, in Decatur and Atlanta
A: You can check out GA here: http://www.farmtoschool.org/state-home.php?id=58
Q: Is this funding available for private schools?
A: All schools participating in the Nation School Lunch Program are eligible to apply.
Q: I would be interested in more detail on the synergy Doug Davis mentioned between the fresh produce and the federal commodities program.
A: We use the commodities offered and combine them with local items to reduce the per portion cost of the item. An example would be using the frozen commodity cherries combined with local apples to make breads or crisps.
Q: Will you be discussing liability insurance requirements of schools or food service contractors that are too high for small local producers or processors?
A: Yes, and most farmers have the minimum insurance necessary to sell to schools. For example, I have 5 acres in production and I have $1 million coverage.
Q: I just tried to find USDA's program referred by Loren LaCorte at http://fns.usda.gov/cnd
A: That's correct - the website is not available today. The website will be released tomorrow afternoon. Try again then.
Q: How will the USDA farm to school site differ from the national farm to school site that already exists?
A: We are working closely with USDA to ensure there is no overlap with the websites, but that they are complementary
Q: What is Burlington's total annual food budget?
A: We spend about 1 million per year on food
Q: How can I find the economic study done in Oregon that showed a 1.87 multiplier effect from local food purchase?
A: You can visit the Ecotrust website: http://www.ecotrust.org/farmtoschool/
A: Here is the press: http://www.ecotrust.org/news/f2s-capital-press_boosts-economy_20090326.html
Q: What is the CSA in the classroom model?
A: CSA is Community Supported Agriculture. [In the classroom, educators can u]se CSA baskets as in-class nutrition and agricultural education tools. This tool can help reinforce your local salad bar’s nutrition and agricultural lessons. The farmer can bring in the CSA box and have a nutrition/ag lesson.
Q: For Presenter Doug Davis: is there statistics on how well your program is working at the school in the DR? Also, is there a web-site with your program information on it?
A: We were able to deliver fruit to 3000+ children several times last school year. Our goal was to get long term local funding and we are still working on that. I am hopeful it will be sustained. Feel free to contact me ddavis@bsdvt.org
Q: For Doug: Have you had any concerns or issues about using volunteers for food prep or processing and storage--from unions or others?
A: We are upfront with our union and do offer the work to them if they want it. Most of the work takes place in the summer and they don't want it. We train our volunteers in food safety and always have a certified serve safe employee present. We have had no issues.
Q: Foodservice companies tend to require $5 million insurance.
A: You are right. I have $1 million insurance on my farm and that is standard.
Q: Did you guys do a study of how the $30k in local purchasing in Burlington may have had a multiplier effect as discussed earlier?
A: I don't think so, the Ecotrust study is the first one done on f2s and economic multipliers
Q: Does Steve [Warshawer] and NGFN do regional visits/presentations to farmers interested in global GAP certification?
A: We have not done this yet... we will need to assess demand in order to develop this capacity
Q: Do schools recommend themselves for a USDA visit, or can others make reccs to USDA?
A: either way, farm to school at the local level is a partnership with schools, community members, non profits, farmers, and parents
A: USDA will work through the school food service director to set up visits; however, if you have a school that you would like to recommend, I'd like to hear from you. You can email me at farmtoschool@fns.usda.gov.
Q: Is $100k per state the accurate figure for schools to buy local?
A: I think you are referring to the Small Purchase Threshold, which makes it easier to purchase local product by having fewer restrictions (read: paperwork), but it is not a max for any state to buy local.
Q: can the resources found on farmtoschoo.org be used publicly by anyone?
A: Yes, the resources on www.farmtoschool.org are free and meant to be used.
Q: Are there national requirements as to what schools must require from farmers in order to buy from them OTHER than liability insurance? I.e. GAP, etc?
A: It varies by state, here are some examples: The OR Dept of Education has a purchasing guideline they provided to food service directors, and near the bottom you will find mention of GAP
http://www.ode.state.or.us/services/nutrition/f2s/pdf/purchasing_guidelines.pdf
The OR Dept of Agriculture has GAP Certification page
http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/CID/ghp_gap.shtml
Iowa State’s checklist for purchasing local
Recent USDA memo Q&A about school gardens http://www.ode.state.or.us/services/nutrition/cacfp/mailings/2010/081409attach.pdf
Q: Can you give us some good examples of F2S programs that incorporate meat, dairy and eggs?
A: I believe Doug's program has used local meats as well
A: Colorado is leading the way.
Q: Specific examples of those higher ed + elementary school partnerships? Students here at the Univ of Virginia have a fairly strong presence in the local elem. schools via tutoring/Big Sib programs/etc, and not yet in a food capacity -- but the interest is there.
A: Occidental College has helped set up and facilitate several farm to school programs in the Southern CA region including at Santa Monica Malibu USD, Riverside, Compton and in Los Angeles USD. Other examples that come to mind are Univ. of Missouri Nutrition Demission in St Louis, MO; Johns Hopkins Center for Livable Futures involvement in Baltimore schools, UC Davis's SAREP involvement in the Davis USD Farm to School program, UNC at Chapel Hill with Durham County schools, Cornell Coop Extension and Nutrition Dept., UNH Office of Sustainability in setting up a statewide program. I am sure there are many others out there.
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November 19, 2009: Good Food at Retail - Models of Success
Moderator: Warren King, Principal, WellSpring LTD
Panelists: Vanessa Zajfen, Center for Food Justice Occidental College; Ruffin Slater, Weaver Street Market Coop; Mike Orf, Hy-Vee, Inc.
Getting more good food into retail is a priority. According to USDA-ERS over 90% of the food that Americans consume at home is purchased at retail outlets.
In this month's webinar you'll hear the details on innovative approaches to getting more good food into retail channels of very different kinds, including a mid-size regional retail chain (200 stores), a three-store cooperative and a WIC-only store. We'll cover topics such as: making connections with local producers and cooperatives, food safety, challenges in starting programs and how our panelists have overcome them, marketing good food in the store, and metrics for measuring success. Afterward, panelists will answer your questions.
Other Webinar Resources
Presentation Slides
In-Webinar Written Transcript
Q: How did you get the WIC only corner stores to ""buy in"" to the program, given the challenges (no refrigeration units etc). Was there grant funding to get infrastructure?
A: I think it’s the marketing and outreach campaign attached...we pitched it to them as a broader package that would bring them new customers, appeal to their current consumers and of course we do support them in creating partnerships with farmers, the state HOTM [Harvest of the Month] program, pay for materials etc.
Q: What processing does this program do? Vanessa mentioned taking the food to processors and then picking it up. Does she mean packing/packaging?
A: Yes, they need to go into some type of bag unless it is a melon or thick rind fruit. No cutting or such processing. This is a store requirement.
Q: What percentage of your total food sales can be from local sources?
A: For Weaver Street Market, it's currently about 1/3 local. Not sure what the potential is, but there is a lot more that we can do.
Q: For Vanessa: How do you verify growers from resellers?
A: We talk to them directly and/or we know them through other work. If the farmers want us to buy from the Terminal market we do so because they asked us to.
Q: What is the WIC voucher dollar value in your state?
A: I believe 6, 8, 10 and 15 dollars for FFV.
Q: Is everyone set up for EBT?
A: I believe that the WIC-Only stores I am working with do not accept EBT as WIC Vouchers and EBT are two totally different payment systems, however some stores might
Q: Question for Vanessa: This is a great model for the goals and situation you have. I'm wondering what kind of lessons or tips you think can be drawn from this example for people who are interested in selling multiple produce items through WIC-certified markets, since so many groups are looking at how to make that work.
A: Great Q and we hope to look at these issues in LA with FM and smaller WIC vendors....maybe we can talk about it in the near future.
Q: For Ruffin: does buying local products (ingredients) for the 'Food House' prove to be cost-effective and economical - or is it based on principle?
A: It's less economical to buy local. Food service ingredients are typically purchases on lowest price, so most of what's available is based on price. For example, we buy local organic flour for about 70 cents/lb; whereas commodity flour is about 20 cents.
Q: Just a clarifying question for Vanessa: is Harvest of the Month an already established program in California?
A: Yes, the state developed it and it is used in schools and limited retail settings.
Q: Vanessa: how have you gone about interesting farmers in selling to retail? My thought would be that they would express some reluctance due to the likelihood of earning a smaller profit margin.
A: The farmers are of a larger scale and thus have and/or want a variety of sales outlets for their food. For example with the Peaches we bought them direct from the grower and picked up at his farm and therefore he did not have to sell them at the terminal market which saved him taxes on each box sold and ultimately allowed him to save money
Q: for Ruffin: Does Weaver Street have any official outreach efforts in place to tap into the large UNC student body population?
A: Not really. We probably should though.
Q: for Ruffin: do you require/recommend co-op members to work/volunteer any hours per month in order to maintain their membership?
A: We have the option to volunteer three hours per week for a discount, but it is not a requirement.
Q: What kind of processing is being done to fresh whole products and why?
A: We packaged the products into bags, no cutting or such light processing, we just need to get them into bags.
Q: For Vanessa: How do the four pilot stores afford to pay for the food but then "give it away"?
A: It is a promotion just like one you might find at Ralphs or other larger stores. It is part of their marketing campaigns and factored into operations.
A: To follow up with that and answer ‘how can they afford to give away food,’ these stores are not small corner stores they are pretty sophisticated stores with decent marketing budgets
Q: How big are your stores? (How many square ft?)
A: Two of our stores are 12,000 sq-ft., and the other is 6,000.
Q: For Ruffin: Do you purchase produce from individual farmers, or is there is a local farmer co-op and or distributor who carries local foods that you purchase from. additionally what kinds of certification requirements do you have for growing standards, food safety, GAP?
A: Will get to food safety question at end for all panelists [Please watch the recording for this information – ed.]
Q: For Ruffin: do you purchase your produce through contracts with the farmers in the beginning of the season or monthly/weekly as the season moves along?
A: We make arrangement with the farmers in the winter for the coming season, but we don't have formal contracts.
Q: For Mike Orf: Are there plans and or interest to expand hyvee's local purchasing/stocking beyond produce and into other categories?
A: This touches all areas of our purchasing dept currently.
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October 15, 2009: NGFN and Food Safety - An Interactive Briefing
Food safety is one of the most critical and fastest moving topics in food systems today. The National Good Food Network Food Safety Coordinator, Steve Warshawer, will lead an interactive briefing with some of the leaders of the charge to ensure that small- and mid-sized producers are treated fairly as new laws are formed.
This Cluster Call will include up-to-the-minute reports from Aimee Witteman, executive director, and Ferd Hoefner, policy director, of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) on current Congressional food safety bills (HR.2749 and S.510), and from Patty Lovera, assistant director of Food and Water Watch (FWW), on the National Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (NLGMA) hearings. Russell Libby, executive director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) will present a working alternative to the food safety system being debated by the federal government. There will be time for all of the presenters to answer your questions.
If you are working with producers, buyers or processors, or supporting the interests of local food systems and small- and mid-size producers, you won’t want to miss this Cluster Call.
Watch the recording, and browse other webinar resources
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September 17, 2009: Programs and Funding Opportunities from the USDA
Participants in the National Good Food Network had a unique opportunity to communicate directly with several key people at the USDA about upcoming funding opportunities. Debra Tropp, Branch Chief, Marketing Services Division, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service moderated a panel of grant managers from across USDA agencies.
Watch the recording, and browse other webinar resources
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August 20, 2009: Innovations in Value Chain Infrastructure - Red Tomato
Michael Rozyne, Co-Director, Red Tomato
Red Tomato, a small nonprofit business in Massachusetts, is the marketing agent for a network of 40 mid-size farms in the Northeast. Red Tomato orchestrates their supply into more than 200 supermarkets in the greater Boston area, and as of recently, in the greater NYC metro area. To satisfy farms and deliver high-quality produce to distributors, Red Tomato's value-added strategy is to differentiate products, or decommodify them, through branding, local and farm identity, packaging, variety choice and diversity, eco certification, aggregation, and through intense focus on quality control to maximize flavor and freshness.
Can Red Tomato build a regional supply chain that maintains the highest quality, and satisfies both farmers and consumers alike? This cluster call (webinar) will explore this question as well as some of the contradictions in the system, such as seasonality vs. the year-round supply that is required to compete in the produce industry.
Watch the recording, and browse other webinar resources
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July 16, 2009: NGFN/Sysco Partnership
The July NGFN Cluster Call features the project leads of the NGFN/Sysco Partnership. First, they’ll share learning specific to the growers’ and buyers’ perspectives, and then talk about ongoing issues around food safety. Afterwards, Joe Colyn, Project Coordinator, will moderate a Q&A session.
Moderator: Joe Colyn, NGFN/Sysco Project Coordinator
Project Manager, Sysco Grand Rapids: Denis Jennisch (Produce Manager, Sysco Grand Rapids)
Co-Project Managers, Sysco Kansas City: Diana Endicott (Owner, Good Natured Family Farms) and Otavio Silva (Buy Fresh Buy Local Kansas City)
Watch the recording, and browse other webinar resources
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June 11, 2009: Aggregation/Distribution: Appalachian Sustainable Development
Anthony Flaccavento discusses the history and context of ASD, focusing on Appalachian Harvest, a model of an "Entrepreneurial Non Profit", followed by Q&A
Watch the recording, and browse other webinar resources
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