April 20, 2016
The program is set: Registration now open for the Urban Food Systems Symposium
The program is set, registration is open and spaces are filling for Kansas State University's 2016 Urban Food Systems Symposium, June 22-25, at the Olathe campus. With a focus on food production and distribution in cities, as well as nutrition and human health, the symposium kicks off Wednesday, June 22, with a welcome reception at the Embassy Suites conference hotel in Lenexa.
Julian Cribb, of Julian Cribb & Associates, will give the keynote address, "The Age of Food," on Thursday, June 23. Cribb is an expert on communicating science.
Nancy Creamer, distinguished professor of sustainable and community-based food systems at North Carolina State University will address, "Building a Local Food Economy in North Carolina," and Ken Meter, food systems analyst and president of Crossroads Resource Center will present "The Long Tradition of Urban Agriculture in the U.S. — and It's Future." Sarah Taylor Lovell, associate professor of landscape agroecology at the University of Illinois will address "Planning Urban Spaces for Sustainable Food Production."
Breakout sessions throughout the conference will cover such topics by speakers from across the U.S as: Urban food production systems; policy, planning and advocacy; nutrition and human health; urban farmer training; food security; and community and economic development and university/college programs. Other topics: Increasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables in a south Los Angeles food desert; just like mama used to make: urban farming as an adjunct to the federal import regulatory scheme regarding immigrant foodways; increasing access to local food by extending shelf life of fresh vegetables; food systems for an increasingly-urban population and many more.
Students will participate in a special lunch with Wayne Roberts, a Canadian food policy analyst and writer, who is widely respected for his role as manager of the Toronto Food Policy Council. He is the author of "The No-Nonsense Guide to Food," published in 2008, and a weekly electronic newsletter.
A Farm Social will take place the evening of Thursday, June 23, at the K-State Olathe Horticulture Research and Extension Center. A banquet on Friday, June 24, at the Embassy Suites will feature local food and chefs and a presentation by noted Canadian food policy analyst and writer Wayne Roberts, with a dance following.
The conference wraps up on Saturday, June 25, with the option to participate in one of three urban and garden farm bus tours that start and end at the Embassy Suites. Lunch and beverages are included. The tours are hosted by Cultivate Kansas City, a nonprofit organization focused on growing food and farms as part of a healthy local food system. Cultivate Kansas City is a partner in the Urban Food Systems Symposium.
Space at the symposium is limited. Save $50 by registering by May 24. More information about the 2016 Urban Food Systems Symposium is available online or by email info@ufss2016.org.