Program

GrowRIVERSIDE Focus Areas
If you are interested in attending the 3rd Annual GrowRIVERSIDE Conference: Cultivating the Future on March 21 – 22, 2016 at the Highlander Union Building at University of California, Riverside you can find out more about the updated program here and register for the conference here. Through keynotes, plenary discussions and breakout sessions, the local food system, urban ag-focused GrowRIVERSIDE Conference will explore the following areas: • Production – Increasing local food production in a sustainable manner; Economically viable urban farming business models; Innovative growing technologies • New Business Creation – Creating new farming enterprises and food businesses; creating additional capacity in the form of new farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs • Local Food Sales and the Marketplace – Understanding what buyers want; investigation of the various local food sales channels; • Community Impact – Local food access for all; food policy to benefit community, economy and environment; health impact

GrowRIVERSIDE Focus Areas

If you are interested in attending the 3rd Annual GrowRIVERSIDE Conference: Cultivating the Future on March 21 – 22, 2016 at the Highlander Union Building at University of California, Riverside you can find out more about the updated program here and register for the conference here.

Through keynotes, plenary discussions and breakout sessions, the local food system, urban ag-focused GrowRIVERSIDE Conference will explore the following areas:

• Production – Increasing local food production in a sustainable manner; Economically viable urban farming business models; Innovative growing technologies
• New Business Creation – Creating new farming enterprises and food businesses; creating additional capacity in the form of new farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs
• Local Food Sales and the Marketplace – Understanding what buyers want; investigation of the various local food sales channels;
• Community Impact – Local food access for all; food policy to benefit community, economy and environment; health impact

Day 1: Thursday, June 11, 2015
Registration and Breakfast	7:30am
Introduction and Outline of Conference Goals Al Zelinka - Assistant City Manager for the City of Riverside Mayor Rusty Bailey - City of Riverside Councilmember Chris MacArthur - City of Riverside Robert Puro - Seedstock	8:30am
Citrus Sponsor Address: Kaiser Permanente Vita Willett - Executive Director of Kaiser Permanente for the Riverside area	9:00am
GrowRIVERSIDE Conference Keynote Address Mark Winne - Community Food Systems Expert and Founder, Hartfood Food System	9:20am
Plenary Session - Building a Local Food Marketplace Panelists: Cheryl Garner - Executive Director of Dining, Conference and Catering Services at the University of California, Riverside Bob Knight - Founder of Inland Orange Conservancy and Old Grove Orange, Inc. Kathleen Reed - Sustainable Food Program Manager for Kaiser Permanente Dwight Detter - Local Forager for Whole Foods Market Moderator: Erika Block - Founder of Local Orbit	10:10am
Networking Break	11:05am
Breakout Sessions I. Developing Urban Farms that Benefit City and Community (Room Location: Raincross A) Rishi Kumar - Founder of The Growing Home Hop Hopkins - Co-founder of PANTHER RIDGE FARM II. Local Food Marketing and Distribution (Room Location: Raincross B) Dwight Detter - Local Forager for Whole Foods Market Erika Block - Founder of Local Orbit III. Food Policy Council Workshop (Room Location: Raincross C) Mark Winne - Community Food Systems Expert and Founder, Hartfood Food System Rebecca Hoggarth - San Bernardino Food Policy Council Gail Egenes - Executive Director of Riverside Land Conservancy	11:20am
Lunch on your own	12:35pm
Keynote Address: USDA and the Future of Local Food Elvis Cordova - Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs	1:50pm
Breaking Bad: Creating, Connecting and Driving Demand for Clean, Local Food Leah Di Bernardo - Chef and Founder of E.A.T Marketplace, a Cultivating Good partnership Don Webber - Partner at Cultivating Good & Owner of Harvest2U	2:50pm
Networking Break	3:20pm
Breakout Sessions I. Indoor Farming in Cities (Room Location: Raincross A) Pierre Sleiman - Founder and CEO of Go Green Agriculture Dr. Gene Giacomelli - Director of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center [CEAC] at the University of Arizona David Rosenstein - Executive Director at OurFoods Moderator: Jim Bergantz - Sales Engineer at Agra Tech, Inc. II. Crop Diversification in Greenbelt and Beyond! (Room Location: Raincross B) Giovanni Cavaletto Vice President of Sourcing for Index Fresh Dr. Tracy L. Kahn - Principal Museum Scientist at UCR Citrus Variety Collection Daniel Francis - Permaculture Specialist Moderator: Dr. Margaret Barth PhD, MPH, MBA - Program Director, Nutrition & Food Sciences III. Disruptive Events and Technology in Agriculture (Room Location: Raincross C) Robert Tse - State Broadband Coordinator for USDA CA Rural Development Bob Knight - Founder of Inland Orange Conservancy and Old Grove Orange, Inc. A.G. Kawamura - Former Secretary of California Dept. of Food and Agriculture and Co-chair of Solutions From the Land	3:35pm
Keynote: Climate Smart Agriculture for Urban Farmers A.G. Kawamura - Former Secretary of California Dept. of Food and Agriculture (2003 - 2010)	5:00pm
Day 1 Closing Remarks Joyce Jong - Agricultural Business Development Coordinator for the City of Riverside	5:45pm
Citrus Circle Dinner at California Citrus State Historic Park Dinner Keynote: Robert Egger - Founder and President of L.A. Kitchen	6:00pm

Day 2: Friday, June 12, 2014
Registration and Breakfast	7:30am
Introduction and Update on the Riverside Food Systems Alliance (RFSA) Gayle Hoxter, MPH, RD - Public Health Program Chief for the County of Riverside Department of Public Health	8:25am
Keynote The importance of local food in addressing the nutrition needs of Riverside’s and by extension America’s children; the progress of RUSD’s farm-to-school program and the impact it has had and will have on the growth of the Local Food System in Riverside Rodney K. Taylor - Director of Nutrition Services, for the Riverside Unified School District	8:50am
Plenary Panel – Local Food Access For All Speakers: Viviana Franco - Executive Director of From Lot To Spot Eddy Jara - City of Riverside Program Coordinator: Nutrition Education Obesity Prevention Joey Romero - Program Director for Mobile Fresh Moderator: Fortino Morales III - UC Riverside Community Garden Coordinator	9:35am
Networking Break	10:35am
Breakout Sessions I. Market Development for Small Farmers (Room Location: Raincross A) Eta Takele, UCCE County Director/Area Advisor Farm Management/Agricultural Economics Ramiro E. Lobo, UCCE Small Farms & Agricultural Economics Advisor Andrea Peterson - Peterson Specialty Produce and Blue Heron Farm Bed and Breakfast David Figueroa - Vice President and Procurement, Family Tree Produce in Anaheim II. Soil, Water and Compost Management for Farmers (Room Location: Raincross B) David Crohn, Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences at UC Riverside; UCCE Resource Conservation Specialist Laosheng Wu, Professor of Soil Physics; UCCE Water Management Specialist III. Launching and Funding a Local Food Enterprise (Room Location: Raincross C) Paul Smith - Economic Development Specialist at US Small Business Administration (SBA) Anthony Lattner - Chief Instructor for the Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training (VSAT) Program Diana Cescolini, M.A.M. -  Adjunct Instructor of Accounting, Business, and Management and SCORE Counselor Nicole Kinney - Director of the Inland Empire Women’s Business Center Vincent McCoy - Director of the Inland Empire Small Business Development Center	10:50am
Lunch on your own	12:05pm
Keynote Business Models to Bolster Small Farmers and the Local Food System Bob Knight - Founder of Inland Orange Conservancy and Old Grove Orange, Inc.	1:35pm
Plenary Panel – The Impact of Water Usage, Policy and Technology on Agriculture in Riverside and Beyond Water Usage, Policy and Technology and their Impact on Agriculture in Riverside Speakers: Celeste Cantu, General Manager at Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) Craig Miller, Deputy General Manager at Western Municipal Water District (WMWD) Kevin S. Milligan, Deputy General Manager at Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) Moderator: Justin Scott-Coe, Public Affairs Director for the Monte Vista Water District	2:25pm
Conclusion and Next Steps	3:45pm

Community Farm Fest Workshop Schedule: Saturday, June 13
Meeting Room 1 (MR1) 9 AM: Ask a Farmer: What is Community Supported Agriculture? – Phil Noble – Sage Mountain Farm 10 AM: Saving the Seasons: An Overview of Food Preservation – Lindsay Barnes – San Bernardino County Master Food Preservers 11 AM: Innovative Water Devices – Subterranean Irrigation – Rob Buff – Intelligent Irrigation 12 PM: Rainwater and Greywater Harvesting – Alex Kallas - Agpals
Meeting Room 2 (MR2) 10 AM: Edible Landscaping – Christine Lampe and Steven Orr – UC Master Gardener Program 11 AM: Hydroponics 101 – Alex Kallas - Agpals 12 PM: Edible Weeds and Native Plants – Preston Galusky – Riverside City College
Meeting Room 3 (MR3)Grow Vegetables and Gardens Organically and Sustainably – Joyce Jong – Jong’s Organic Fertilizers 9 AM: 10 AM: Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet (90 Minutes) – Dr. Mohammed Ismail and Jacob Fischer – Kaiser Permanente 12 PM:Converting to Native and Drought Tolerant Landscaping – Nancy Sappington – Inland Urban Forest Council

Program

Get Weekly Email Updates!

Find us on Facebook!

Donate to the Riverside Food Systems Alliance

Get Weekly Email Updates!