'GROWING OUR LOCAL FOOD ECONOMY' PACKED FULL OF GOOD INFORMATION & TASTY TREATS

Attendees at the 10/21/10 workshop included local producers, distributors, consumers, school food service staff, and other interested members of the community.

As part of her presentation entitled 'The Nuts and Bolts of Building a Regional Food System,' Dr. Shermain Hardesty, Extension Specialist Agricultural Resource and Economics at UC Davis, and Rachel Elkins, UCCE Pomology Advisor, recorded suggestions from attendees for additional crops, potential food products, and gaps in resources.  Those suggestions are outlined to the right.

Other presentations included:

Above, LAVA owners Maria Giovanni and Theodore Herrera chat with workshop attendees, including presenter Shermain Hardesty, about their dried and preserved fruit products.  A platter (lower right hand corner) full of delicate kale chips was quickly emptied.

 

10/21/10 WORKSHOP SUGGESTIONS

The following lists will be discussed and expanded at Local Food Roundtable (LFR) meetings.  The next LFR meeting will be at 3 p.m. on November 19, 2010 in Conf. Room C (3rd Floor) of the County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes, Lakeport.

ADDITIONAL CROPS:

  • Grains
  • Persimmons
  • Chestnuts
  • Pomegranates
  • Blueberries
  • Hops
  • Plums
  • Algae
PROCESSED FOODS:
  • Kale chips
  • Pear/apple items
  • Walnut oil
  • Flour (wheat, pumpkin, chestnut, acorn)
  • Grapeseed oil
  • Meat processing
  • Fruit/veggie dips
PRIORITY PRODUCTS:
  • Flours
  • Oils
  • Dried fruits
  • Juice/cider
PRIORITY PRODUCT NEEDS:
  • Flour mill (grinder, screens, ventilation)
  • Drying screens, evaporative/dehydration equipment, cleaning/slicing/coring area.
  • Pasteurization equipment.
EXPORT POTENTIAL:
  • Cooperative distribution - rethink urban markets
  • Need more farmers
PRICE PREMIUM:
  • Boutique products
  • Price scale changes
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