Conference News
Future of Local Food Reminder: Register now for the GrowRIVERSIDE Conference in June
April 14, 2015 | seedstock
GrowRIVERSIDE: The Future of Local Food presented by Seedstock in partnership with the City of Riverside will assist cities in examining and developing solutions to develop and strengthen their urban agriculture and local food infrastructure. Experts in farming small plots, new business creation, local food marketplace development and community food access will come together to offer solutions on how Riverside can become a model for other cities to follow.
Topics of focus include:
- Urban Farming Business Models that Benefit Community and Economy
- Accelerating your Food Business Enterprise
- Community Food Systems
- Growing with Less Water
- The Power of Compost
- Hydroponic and Aquaponic Systems and their Role in the Future of Local Food
- Local Food Marketing
- Food Policy
- Funding a New Food Business
- Food Access
- Climate Smart Agriculture
GrowRIVERSIDE Conference to Explore Indoor Farming Opportunities from Hydroponics to Aquaponics
April 9, 2015 | seedstock
As water supplies dwindle, cultivatable land grows scarce and more expensive to purchase and market demand for local food continues to grow, indoor farming utilizing hydroponic and aquaponic technology will increasingly play a role in food production. To examine the economic, community and environmental benefits of developing indoor farms in or on the fringes of cities, the 2nd Annual GrowRIVERSIDE Conference: The Future of Local Food will host a session entitled “Launching an Indoor Farming Enterprise.” The session will feature thought leaders and experts from the indoor farming space including:
Pierre Sleiman is the founder and CEO of Go Green Agriculture, an innovative company that grows produce inside high-tech greenhouses using hydroponics. Go Green’s mission is to setup greenhouses across the country to provide local jobs and fresh, delicious, and nutritious produce to the community. Pierre has become involved in the mission of accelerating the movement towards local and sustainable farming and fostering interest in youth to choose agriculture as an exciting career. Read More
Healthy Riverside Initiative Emphasizes Local Food, Looks to Make County # 1 Place to Live in U.S.
April 9, 2015 | seedstock
Local food and agriculture is a major component of the Healthy Riverside County Initiative, designed to assist residents of Riverside County, California live healthy lives.
The initiative’s roots started growing in April 2011, when the Riverside County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution to encourage all county departments to support healthy lifestyles.
In June 2012, Riverside County CEO Jay Orr included this mission of improved health in a larger vision: to make Riverside County the No. 1 place to live in the United States. One of the goals incorporated into this vision was to improve health in the country through policies, initiatives, systems and partnerships. Read More
No Green Without Blue: Riverside, CA Public Utility Emphasizes Water Conservation in Urban Ag
April 2, 2015 | seedstock
Riverside, despite its status as a sizable city, still produces a large amount of citrus fruit. Green Riverside and Blue Riverside strive to care for the land and to conserve water so Riverside can keep producing citrus will into the future. (photo courtesy of Alicia Albertson/City of Riverside)
The City of Riverside, California is committed to being green, but city officials know that in order to do this, Riverside must also be blue.
And with yesterday’s announcement of the state’s first-ever water restriction, it’s fair to say the city is ahead of the curve.
In this spirit, Riverside is engaged in two related and synergistic initiatives, Green Riverside and Blue Riverside.
Green Riverside was born when a group of businesspeople in the city created a strategy for growth in Riverside. This strategy revolves around environmental innovation and sustainability that includes all city entities, including government, business and residents. Read More
Newly Added GrowRIVERSIDE Keynotes to Address Climate Smart Urban Agriculture and Regional Food Systems
April 1, 2015 | seedstockGrowRIVERSIDE today announced that A.G. Kawamura, former Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (2003-2010) and Leah Di Bernardo, slow food visionary and award-winning Chef and founder of E.A.T Marketplace, a Cultivating Good partnership, have been added as keynotes to the upcoming “2nd Annual GrowRIVERSIDE: Future of Local Food” Conference. At the conference, which will take place on June 11 – 12 at The Riverside Convention Center (with Community Day on June 13), A.G. will give an address on Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) for Urban Farms, while Leah will discuss the importance of linking city and county local food efforts toward the end of strengthening community, economic and environment and creating a robust regional food system. Read More
Second GrowRIVERSIDE “Dinner in the Grove” set for Saturday, May 16; to Deliver Farm-to-School Twist
March 30, 2015 | seedstock
The Nutrition Services team at Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) works tirelessly on a daily basis to provide healthy farm-to-school options to the approximately 43,000 students spread across 31 schools located in the district. But, on Saturday, May 16, under the stars and amidst the groves and fruit trees at Fox Farm / Hapeman Ranch in the City of Riverside, RUSD’s culinary brain trust will focus their attention on just 60 diners lucky enough to claim tickets for the 2nd GrowRIVERSIDE “Dinner in the Grove”.
Bringing the same enthusiasm that they usually reserve for farm-to-school lunches, RUSD’s Nutrition Services team will prepare a farm-to-table meal utilizing locally sourced food from growers across the county as well as from the farm of host and sponsor, Fox Farm / Hapeman Ranch. Sponsor, Torch Coffee, a Riverside roaster will offer coffee sourced from farmers who are sustainable financially, environmentally, and socially.
Fox Farm / Hapeman Ranch, situated in the City of Riverside, is a unique 2.5-acres farm with a stocked fish pond, corrals, chicken coop and a 65 tree orchard.
The dinner will support the upcoming 2nd Annual GrowRIVERSIDE Conference, celebrate Riverside’s citrus heritage and local produce and the efforts of RUSD Nutrition Services to serve health farm fresh meals to the children of Riverside.
Rodney Taylor and members of the RUSD Nutrition Services team will speak on the importance of local food and farmers to RUSD while Scott Berndt of Fox Farm and Lana Hapeman of Hapeman Ranch will discuss urban farming as well as the importance of preserving farmland in the City of Riverside.
Reserve your seats now for the 2nd GrowRIVERSIDE “Dinner in the Grove”!
UC Riverside Spring Science Lecture Series to Focus on Food Security and Nutrition
March 25, 2015 | seedstockUC Riverside’s College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences in partnership with the UC Global
Food Initiative and California Agriculture and Food Enterprise (CAFÉ) present the Spring 2015 Science Lecture Series:
Location:
UC Riverside Extension Center
Conference Rooms D&E
1200 University Ave., Riverside, CA 92507
Time: 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
All lectures are free and open to the public (no charge for parking). For more information, visit http://cnas.ucr.edu/sciencelectures/.
April 9 – Feeding Botswana: From Field to Lab to Vaccine
Larry Grill (’79 Ph.D. Plant Pathology), Dean of Research, and Director, Vaccine Research Center, Keck Graduate Institute, Claremont, CA Read More
Only TWO DAYS Remain to Get Early Bird Discounted Tix for “GrowRIVERSIDE: The Future of Local Food” Conference
March 22, 2015 | seedstock
(From left to right) – Robert Egger, founder of L.A. Kitchen; Krysia Zajonc, CEO and co-founder of Local Food Lab; Bob Knight, founder of Inland Orange Conservancy and Old Grove Orange, Inc.; Fortino Morales III, UC Riverside Community Garden Coordinator.
RIVERSIDE, CA – Only 2 DAYS REMAIN to obtain Early Bird DISCOUNTED REGISTRATION Tickets for the “GrowRIVERSIDE: The Future of Local Food” Conference (Purchase here: http://growriverside.eventbrite.com). The event, to be held June 11-13, at the Riverside Convention Center, will assist cities in examining and developing solutions to develop and strengthen their urban agriculture and local food infrastructure. Experts in farming small plots, new business creation, local food marketplace development and community food access will come together to offer solutions on how Riverside can become a model for other cities to follow.
In compliment to featured keynote presentations on “How the Local Food Market Opportunity Strengthens Community, Environment and Economy,” “Developing Business Models to Support Small Farmers and Strengthen the Local Food System,” and “The Importance of Local Food in Addressing the Nutrition Needs of Riverside’s and by extension America’s Children,” the two-day program will offer a series of panels including:
- Local Food Access for All – An exploration of how to make fresh and local food available to all in an economically viable manner; addressing food deserts and food access in Riverside and beyond;
- Building a Local Food Market – A discussion of how to scale the local food marketplace in Riverside and beyond via the creation of food hubs, appealing to institutional buyers from hospitals to schools;
- Local Agriculture Innovation – an examination of various technologies (aquaponics, irrigation technology, et al) as well as new business models (CSA, direct marketing) enabling the development of economically sustainable small-scale farming operations;
The program, organized for the City of Riverside by Seedstock co-founder Robert Puro, has been formulated as a model for any and all cities looking to enhance local and urban agriculture. The deadline to purchase tickets at the “early bird” price ends Tuesday, March 24. For additional information pertaining to the event, ticket prices, program speakers, and registration, please visit www.growriverside.com
Click here to purchase your Early Bird Special Ticket!
CONFIRMED SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
Mark Winne – Co-founder of the Connecticut Food Policy Council
Robert Egger – Founder and President of L.A. Kitchen
Dwight Detter – Local Forager for Whole Foods Market
Viviana Franco – Executive Director of From Lot To Spot
Fortino Morales III – UC Riverside Community Garden Coordinator
Rodney K. Taylor – Director of Nutrition Services, for the Riverside Unified School District
Robert Tse – State Broadband Coordinator for USDA CA Rural Development
Erika Block – Local Orbit
Bob Knight – Founder of Inland Orange Conservancy and Old Grove Orange, Inc.
Rishi Kumar – Founder of The Growing Home
David Rosenstein – Founder of EVO Farm & Chair of the Aquaponics Association – Western Region
Pierre Sleiman – Founder of Go Green Agriculture
Krysia Zajonc – CEO and Co-founder of Local Food Lab
Jim Bergantz – Sales Engineer at Agra Tech, Inc.
Mateo Aguilar – Co-founder of Local Food Lab
Hop Hopkins – Co-founder of Panther Ridge Farm
… and more!
More information on the conference: http://growriverside.com
Click here to purchase your Early Bird Special Ticket!
Donate to the Riverside Food Systems Alliance
