Cal Poly March 6 Event to Spotlight Regional Food System Initiatives

Joseph McIntyre SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly’s Center for Sustainability will host a lecture and panel discussion March 6 about emerging concepts to define and support regional food systems and how the concepts are being employed by a cross-section of professionals in food, agriculture, policy, research and education.

Joseph McIntyre, president of Ag Innovations Network, will speak at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 6, at the Monday Club in San Luis Obispo. McIntyre’s topic is “Demystifying Regional Food Systems: A New Look at an Evolving Trend in Farming and Food.” The event is free and open to the public.

McIntyre will identify key concepts underlying current food systems initiatives being developed across the U.S. He will also discuss how such efforts help satisfy consumer demand for locally-grown food and how high-margin direct and/or regional markets can benefit producers while contributing to the development of the agricultural sector and overall regional economy.

The lecture will be followed by a panel discussion highlighting initiatives that support local food systems on the Central Coast. Panelists will discuss the roles their organizations play in newly-emerging community partnerships that contribute to the long-term vitality of the Central Coast’s food and agricultural system.

Panelists include Jackie Crabb, executive director of the San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau; Carl Hansen, executive director of the Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo County; Kathleen Karle, division manager for health promotion, San Luis Obispo County Health Department; Ann McDermott, associate professor of kinesiology and director of STRIDE (Science through Translational Research in Diet and Exercise) at Cal Poly; and Jenna Smith, executive director of the Central Coast Ag Network.

The event is part of the quarterly Sustainable Ag Lecture Series sponsored by the Center for Sustainability, part of Cal Poly’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences.

For more information about the event, go to www.cfs.calpoly.edu.

About Joseph McIntyre

McIntyre is president of Ag Innovations Network, an organization dedicated to facilitating dialogue on the future of food and farming. He recently facilitated the James Beard Conference, “How Money and Media Influence the Way America Eats,” and was featured on the radio program “Taste Matters” and in “Grist” magazine.

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