Dear Local Food Producers and Farmers, The Madison Agriculture Working Group and Virginia Cooperative Extension invite you to join us on Tuesday, July 29, 2014, 7:00 pm at the Madison Extension Office for a discussion on expanding the local food network in Madison County. A goal of the Madison Agriculture Working Group is to improve the marketing and increase the customer base for locally grown food. To achieve this goal, we would like to have your input on strategies to improve the marketing and recruiting of new customers. One idea that has been discussed is a locally grown cooperative of growers that maintains and manages a store in Madison with regular business hours during the week. One potential location that has been considered is the Madison General Store on Main Street across the street from the Eagle Office. After the meeting, we will take a tour of the store that has adequate floor space, shelving and cold storage for a local food business. Local food networks are a collaborative effort to build more locally-based, self-reliant food economies. These local food networks emphasize sustainable food production, processing, distribution, and consumption that are integrated to enhance the economic, environmental and social health in a particular location and are considered to be a part of the more global sustainability movement. Local food networks include organizations (like the Madison Farmers Market Association), that produce, distribute, and promote locally produced products. While grocery retailers, restaurants, and other organizations may include locally produced products, it is food consumer co-ops, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), and farmers markets that are uniquely positioned in the local food networks and capable of placing greater emphasis on locally produced products. One of the key aspects is the emphasis on “local sourcing” which is defined as the consumers’ preference to buy locally produced goods and services. So let’s start the conversation and develop a plan to expand the local food network in Madison County. Please join us on July 29, 2014, 7:00 pm at the Madison Extension Office to plan the future of local food production. Thank you and I look forward to seeing you next week. Sincerely, Brad Jarvis Extension Agent, ANR Crop and Soil Science War Memorial Building, 2nd FL Madison, VA 22727 (540) 948-6881 O (540) 718-1964 M [email protected]
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 21:27:45 +0000
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