Brainstorming sessions to improve the local food system continue next week in Medford and the following Tuesday in Central Point.
Open to the public, Community Foods Conversations are a streamlined version of the FEAST process, covered in a previous post. Participants can partake of sandwiches and salads made with some locally produced ingredients while they share knowledge, ideas and concerns, then prioritize toward a regional plan.
Explained in a February story for A la Carte, FEAST was devised by Oregon Food Bank and is funded locally by Meyer Memorial Trust. ACCESS and THRIVE are additional sponsors.
So far, FEASTs in Applegate, the Phoenix-Talent area, Grants Pass, Eagle Point and Ashland have identified a wide range of priorities from a broad, public-education campaign for cooking and preserving whole foods to simplifying distribution and diminishing waste. Expanding existing farmers markets is on the radar, along with establishing local slaughterhouse facilities certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Conserving prime, local farmland, making it affordable and safeguarding it against genetically modified crops is perhaps the most far-reaching goal to come out the Ashland FEAST.
If you want a seat at the table, call Hannah Ancel at 541-618-4019 or email hancel@accesshelps.org. The east Medford conversation is planned for 5:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 19, at First Christian Church, 1900 Crater Lake Ave. West Medford’s event will be from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, June 21, at First Presbyterian Church, 85 S. Holly St. Central Point’s turn comes at the same time, Tuesday, June 26, at First Presbyterian Church, 456 W. Pine St.
