Schedule

7:30-8:30        Registration    
8:30-8:50        Welcome from the organizing committee
9:00-9:40        Breakout Session I: Producers with Tom Elmore 9:40-10:00      Break   
10:00-10:40    Breakout Session II: Consumers with Emily Jackson 10:40-10:50    Break                                                           10:50-11:45    Small group discussion of producers and consumers                                                                            11:45-12:30    Farm and Garden Tour        

12:45-1:30      Lunch

1:30-2:15        Breakout Session III: Land with Tom Philpott
2:15-2:30        Break

2:30-3:30        Small group discussion on land

3:30-3:45        Break 
3:45-4:15        Breakout Session IV: Community with the organizing committee    
4:15-4:45        Wrap-up with Sandor Katz      

During each Breakout session we will focus on one aspect of the food system, while drawing connections to the inherent interconnectedness of the whole system. Group discussion will be be facilitated after each session by members of the organizing committee.
            

Breakout I: Producers 

Tom Elmore of Thatchmore Farm will discuss Local Food Systems as a Source of Jobs and Rural Prosperity.

The flow of consumer dollars is an important consideration for planners seeking to improve the prosperity of a region or a community.  Local purchases result in dollars that cycle within the community, supporting other businesses, employing neighbors, and adding to the economic well-being of an area.  In contrast, purchases made for products produced elsewhere result in "leaks" in the local economy. An increasingly important opportunity to plug economic leaks in the Southern Appalachians is by supporting local food systems.  This session explores ways to plug economic leaks through food purchases decisions and through public policies that support local producers.  Opportunities exist to support local food in the policies that we choose from the household to the national level. 

Breakout Session II: Consumers

Emily Jackson works with the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP), an Asheville-based non-profit organization that supports farmers and rural communities to create and expand regional community-based and integrated food systems that are locally owned and controlled, environmentally sound, economically viable and health-promoting. She will speak to the role consumers have in sharing agriculture responsibility, supporting local farms, and working towards a food system that is more socially, environmentally, and economically just.
            

Breakout Session III: Environment

With Tom Philpott of Maverick Farms and Grist magazine, we will discuss how the food system effects the environment. Although we will focus on the food system, we will also discuss how competing interests for limited land effect the food system, and the choices consumers have.

Breakout Session IV: Community      

In this session, we will discuss the role of community in the food  system. We will emphasize the importance of participation, local autonomy, and what food sovereignty means for a community. This session will be lead by members of the organizing committee, and we will highlight ways in which young people and students can make changes in their communities. In this session, we will encourage participants to share their stories and their work with the entire group.  

Sandor Katz, fermentation guru, author, and food activist, will be wrapping up our day of SAY Food.