MONTGOMERY-The Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network (ASAN)’s annual series of Regional Food & Farm Forums will convene farmers, gardeners, community leaders, and sustainable food advocates to “cross-pollinate” and learn from one another, at the McDowell Farm School at Camp McDowell, on Friday, October 28, 8:30-4:30pm.
“In the past decade Alabama has experienced a huge surge in interest in
ASAN Executive Director Alice Evans
healthy food, sustainable and organic farming, and support for locally rooted businesses,” says ASAN Executive Director Alice Evans, “but many Alabamians still don’t know how to connect with local farmers, or how to take the next step to support the growth of our local food system.” Evans says, “There has been huge growth in the number of farmers markets in Alabama, but in many cases it has outpaced the increase in number of farms to support these markets. There has been a resurgence among young people interested in farming, but many aren’t able to find apprentice-level positions to learn the craft, and even once trained, have a hard time making a profit, thanks in part to the high cost of land and equipment.”
ASAN, with its annual series of Regional Food & Farm Forums, seeks to address some of these disconnects. The Forum at McDowell on Oct 28 is the 3rd event in the 2016 series; the fourth and final Forum will take place on Thursday 12/1 at the University of West Alabama in Livingston.
Each Regional Forum is uniquely shaped to fulfill local needs and reflect local strengths, but each has several recurring components: a wide variety of expert-facilitated roundtable discussions; experiential learning opportunities like farm tours and mini-workshops; exhibits and resource tables; and a delicious meal.
The Regional Food & Farm Forums are open and accessible to those with all levels of experience. All activities are geared towards sowing seeds for collaborative partnerships that will continue to grow after the event has ended.
The Forum on 10/28 begins at 9:00am, following registration from 8:30-9:00am. In the morning there will be a guided tour and a group facilitated session, followed by lunch. There will be exhibit tables set up throughout the day to inform attendees of the resources available through local businesses and organizations. The afternoon will consist of three back-to-back sessions of concurrent roundtable discussions, on topics ranging from cooperatives to seed saving, solar power to livestock nutrition, growing mushrooms to selecting tools and equipment.
The roundtable discussions are in many ways the centerpiece of the Regional Forums, says Evans. “They’re designed to be engaging and participatory, guided by input and participation from those around the table, so people can make them what they want and need them to be.”
Information about all four of the 2016 Regional Food & Farm Forums can be found at https://asanonline.org/RFFF16.
The cost of registration is $5 for current ASAN members and $20 for nonmembers. Pre-registration is strongly recommended in order to ensure adequate food, space, and materials; however on-site registration the day of the event is possible.
Child care will be provided, but children must be registered in advance (free of charge, subject to $1 processing fee) on the same registration website. Scholarships and volunteer opportunities are available if the cost of registration is prohibitive; contact alice@asanonline.org or 256-743-0742 for more information.
About the Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network (ASAN):
ASAN is a grassroots network of producers and supporters of locally, ecologically, and ethically raised food from throughout Alabama. Through training events, field days, scholarship programs, publications, and a community support network, ASAN not only helps existing farmers thrive, but also works to fundamentally change the very landscape in which our food system operates – we want a world where farmers don’t face such an uphill battle in the first place, in order to prosper.. More information at https://asanonline.org and https://www.facebook.com/ASANonline.
Media Release/Alice Evans
Executive Director
Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network
