Florida Local Food Summit to be held September 8-10 in Orlando

Randall Weiseman Beef, Florida, Fruits, General, Industry News Release, Livestock, Nursery Crops, Specialty Crops, Vegetables

From the Florida Local Food Summit:

(GAINESVILLE, Fla.) – Florida Organic Growers, East End Market and Local Roots Distribution have partnered to host the second annual Florida Local Food Summit slated for Thursday, September 8 through Saturday, September 10 at East End Market, 3201 Corrine Drive in Orlando and various other locations.

The summit will be an opportunity for our state’s top food and farming entrepreneurs, policy makers, chefs, foodies and consumers to come together to grow Florida’s local food movement through both introductory and advanced coursework, beautiful farm-to-table meals, a Grower’s Festival, home gardening classes and more.

The keynote speaker is Will Harris from White Oak Pastures in southern Georgia. White Oak Pastures is a 150 year old multigenerational family farm that cooperates with nature to produce grass fed beef and lamb, pastured poultry, pastured eggs and Certified Organic vegetables. Harris tends the same land that his great-grandfather settled in 1866 and made the audacious decision to return to the farming methods his great-grandfather had used 130 years before. Since Harris has successfully implemented these changes, he has been recognized all over the world as a leader in humane animal husbandry and environmental sustainability.

The kick-off to the Summit begins Thursday, September 8th with farm tours throughout Central Florida. This is a chance for established and beginning farmers to come visit area farms and learn different methods and strategies of natural food production. The tours are free and open to the public.

Friday and Saturday sessions include a variety of topics such as diversifying your farm, navigating farm resources, holistic livestock management, food policy, business planning and much more.

Friday’s workshops are more advanced, bringing together Florida’s top food and farming entrepreneurs, policy makers, chefs, foodies and local food fans to collaborate, learn and network.

Saturday will feature home-scale, organic fruit and vegetable growing classes, seasonal cooking demonstrations, and garden preservation workshops. Additionally the Audubon Park community will be hosting a growers fair with starter plants, fruiting trees, soils, nutrients and other needed supplies.

To learn more about the Summit, including the educators and speakers and additional sessions, or to sponsor, please visit the Summit website at www.floridafoodsummit.com.