1. Selling to Retailers: Scaling Up with Farm Fresh Foods (9:30 AM - 5:00 PM)
2. New Leaders (12:30 - 5:00 PM)
3. Farm Bill Organizing Meeting (by invitation)
   

7 – 9 PM         Registration; display table set-up
8 – 11 PM      MIXER: regional refreshments, live music!

7:00 - 8:30 AM    Registration; display table set-up

8:30 AM Opening Plenary: A Working Conference
         Sacred Cows? Building Good Arguments for Northeast Food Systems
This provocative session will explore three food system "myths." A little theater... a little scholarly insight to help us strengthen our arguments about “good food” and local and regional food systems.  Guaranteed entertainment to stimulate everyone! 
    Michael Rozyne, Red Tomato and NESAWG
    Kate Clancy, consultant and JHU Center for a Livable Future
    Diego Angarita, Nuestras Raices
    Lynn Davey, Davey Strategies
    Miguel Gomez, Cornell University
    Kathy Lawrence, School Food FOCUS and NESAWG

9:30 AM    Plenary Panel: Metro & Regional Food Planning  
Northeast Models planners are embracing food systems as integral to their work at all scales. Food system planning considers land use, economic development, environment, transportation, climate, energy, and health – all critical food system components at community and regional levels.  These successful examples from the Northeast show us what’s possible.
·      Shawn Megill Legendre, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
·      Holly Freishtat, Food Policy Director, Baltimore City Department of Planning
·      Ellen Kahler, Vermont Farm to Plate
·      Sarah Brannen, author of “FoodWorks:  A Vision to Improve NYC's Food System”
·      Moderator: Julia Freedgood, American Farmland Trust

10:30    Break

11:00 AM Work Group session #1
Work Group sessions are for working! Each session is designed to maximize participation and shared learning. Session leaders will update you on work since last year’s meeting, and lead discussion on new issues and challenges in each topic area. Some groups will move their action plans forward; others will focus on structured activities.   Option for a second session on Saturday. 

• Infrastructure: 

Focus:  Meat and produce processing infrastructure in the region, with a focus on meat value chains and regulatory literacy for small-scale meat producers. Results from outreach and surveys, and planning for next steps.   Facilitators: Eric DeLuca, consultant; Virginia Kasinki, Glynwood 

• Research and Assessments: 

Focus: Ongoing and new research projects and food system assessments; research needs, ideas, models, resources and connections.  Facilitators: Molly Anderson, College of the Atlantic; Claire Hinrichs, Penn State University 

• Food Safety: 

Focus: Actual and potential effects of governmental food safety regulations on farm businesses; the latest on what’s happening, including responses from the field. Facilitator: Steve Gilman, Northeast Organic Farming Association

• Regional Supply Chain - Distribution: 

Focus: Using a case clinic approach, this work session will dig deep into real world problem solving.  Facilitators: Ann Karlen, Fair Food; Chris Harmon, CADE; Michael Rozyne, Red Tomato

• Messaging and Outreach: 

Focus: Effective framing, messaging and use of media to educate, engage, bring people together and build our food movement.  Facilitator: Billie Best, NESAWG

• Diet, Geography, Access and Public Health:  

Focus:   Exploration of potential public health indicators to bridge public health and food system planning. Can we identify or develop public health indicators that can serve as indicators of food system integrity? Are there food system indicators we can use as proxies for public health integrity?  Facilitators:Joanne Burke, UNH; Amanda Behrens, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health; Jennifer Wilkins, Cornell University, Kenneth Kaplan, MIT

• Labor and Trade: 

Focus: Fair trade and worker rights and treatment all along the food supply chain. What does it mean for farmers, farm and food system workers to act as allies? How can they be more integrated into the food justice/sustainable food movement?   Facilitators: Liz Henderson, Domestic Fair Trade Association; Nelson Carrasquillo, CATA

• Community and Regional Food Planning: 

Focus: The role, value and challenges of food system planning at all levels -- for professional planners and their collaborators.  Facilitators: Julia Freedgood, American Farmland Trust; Erica Campbell, VT Farm to Plate

12:30 PM Networking and Displays
12:45 PM  Lunch
                      NESAWG Annual Meeting (not what you'd expect!)

2:15 PM  Plenary panel: Workers Along the Food Chain
True food system change requires justice and fairness for all. This panel will inspire us with worker organizing efforts along the food chain and show us ways to connect with this work in our region.
     Nelson Carrasquillo, CATA, the Farmworker Support Committee
     Daisy Chung, Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York
     TBD, Unite Here! Sustainable Food Project
     Moderator: Liz Henderson, Agricultural Justice Project

3:30    Break

4:00 p.m. Topical Workshops   
Dig into content with these concurrent sessions. Each workshop connects you with leaders in the field for 90 minutes of focused exploration of cutting edge topics. 
1.     Farm Bill Action
Focus: Everything you need to know to make a difference in the upcoming Farm Bill. We'll cover the basics, organizing tactics, networking and more.   
Leader: Amy Little, NESAWG Advocacy Organizer
2.     Northeast Fisheries: Scale Up of Sell Out?
Focus:  Policies that turned farms into food production machines with grave ecological, social, health and economic consequences are being mirrored on the marine side. Fishing operations are faced with the same choices confronted by farmers a few decades ago: sell out or scale up. Learn what our fishing communities are doing to stop consolidation and create alternatives. 
Leaders: Brett Tolley, Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance; Doug Maxfield, fisherman, Gloucester, MA; Amanda Beal, Eat Local Foods Coalition of Maine
3.     Regional Food Mapping
Focus: Advances on foodshed mapping from the design wizards who dazzled us last year.  What’s new with NYC foodshed analysis and the National Integrated Regional Foodsheds Model. 
Leaders: Michael Conard, Assistant Director, Urban Design Lab, and Adjunct Associate Professor, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation; and TBD
4.     Regional Food Systems to Improve Access
Focus: Can regional foods improve food access and benefit farmers and others in the supply chain?  Learn about this multi-year USDA-funded project and how you can participate.
Leaders: Stephan Goetz, Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development,  Kate Clancy and Ann Palmer, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future; Tim Griffin and Chris Peters, Tufts University AFE Program; Miguel Gomez, Cornell University; Kathy Ruhf, NESAWG    
5.     Hubs & Chains Partnerships
Focus: Food hub and supply chain projects are capturing the attention of public agencies, nonprofit groups, for-profit firms and lenders. Partnerships are the way to go.
Leaders: Jeff Farbman, Wallace Center’s National Good Food Network; Debbie Tropp/designee, Ag Marketing Service, USDA; Karen Karp, Karp Resources;  Linda Berlin, UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture;  moderator: Thomas Forster, School Food FOCUS
6.    Dietary Guidelines and Regional Food Systems Planning
Focus: We’ll start with a critical review of dietary recommendations and basic assumptions about land and sea resources that contribute to future food production scenarios. How can these projections help us build regional collaboration, capacity and resilience toward a “good food” system? 
Leaders: Joanne Burke, UNH Department of Molecular, Cellular and Biomedical Sciences; Tom Kelly, UNH Office of Sustainability; Brian Donahue, Brandeis University; Margaret McCabe; Russ Libby, MOFGA
7.     Urban Agriculture Frontiers
Focus: Urban farming is carving a legitimate place in food production. We’ll explore commercial farming in metro settings across the region, and hear from growers working city soil.
Leaders: Nevin Cohen, The New School; Julie Rubaud, Intervale Center; Jenn Nelkin, Gotham Greens; TBD
8.     Northeast Agriculture, Climate and Energy
Focus: Climate change is upon us. What are the realities for our agri-food system and what are meaningful responses? Share ideas with scientists and practitioners.
Leaders: Jonathan Comstock, Cornell University; Tom Richard, Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment;  farmer TBD

6:00 PM   Reception  

7:00 PM   Dinner 
Maine Congresswoman and farmer, Chellie Pingree, will be the featured keynote speaker.  Rep. Pingree sponsored the  "Local Farms, Food and Jobs Act" in the House of Representatives.  She has demonstrated leadership, courage and keen understanding of what's need for farmers and communities to develop local and regional food systems. We are honored to have Rep. Pingree talk about the bill and food system issues at the Friday evening conference banquet.

8:30 PM   Films

7:00 AM   Breakfast

8:00 AM   Work Group session #2 (same groups as session #1)
                      Interest group/Open Space breakout option

9:15    Break

9:30 AM    Plenary: Cultivating Diversity to Build Our Movement
How can diversity of all kinds strengthen our network?  What role does diversity play in our theory of change? This panel will explore the imperatives, possibilities and challenges around cultivating diversity in our network.
       Vivien Morris, Mattapan Food & Fitness Coalition, Boston, MA
       Diego Angarita, Nuestras Raices, Holyoke, MA
       Savanna Lyons, West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition
       Tanya Field, Bronx, NY
       Moderator: Kolu Zigbi, EAT4Health and Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation

10:30 AM  Plenary: A Farm Bill for the Northeast
Whatever political realities shape the upcomping Farm Bill, this huge legislation impacts our region, work and lives.  This panel will discribe the Farm Bill landscape and call us to action.
        Roger Johnson, National Farmers Union
        Marge Kilkelly, Northeast States Assn. for Agricultural Stewardship
        Kathryn Tanner, staff, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (invited)
       Qianna Mickie, Just Food
        Moderator: Amy Little, NESAWG Advocacy Organizer

11:30 AM    Wrap Up
           Who are we?  Survey results and slideshow
        Awards
        Closing

12:15 p.m. Adjourn