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Pre-Conference Trainings Sunday, February 10th, 1:00-5:00 pm
At the Saratoga Hilton, Saratoga Springs, NY Fee: $45

1.  Mapping Institutional Procurement in the Northeast: An Intensive Peer Networking Session

This advanced session is targeted to groups and individuals involved or poised to engage in institutional food procurement in the Northeast.  The session will begin with a scan of current Farm to Institution (FTI) efforts in our region, including schools and colleges, hospitals, and others, examing such aspects of FTI work as:

• Geographic scope
  
• Strategies and theories of change employed
• Constituences served/engaged
• Starting point of procurement change work (e.g., demand side -- schools, hospitals; supply side -- producers perspective, hubs and chains work with schools as one part of mixed marketing strategy, etc.)
  
• Which parts of the food supply chain are most deeply engaged.
  

Through this exploration we hope to create a graphic map of FTI in the Northeast, which will allow us to more readily identify commonalities, overlaps, differences, gaps and fertile ground for synergy.  Before ending, we'll address the questions of what value groups might find in continued sharing across FTI efforts, whether any formalized process might be needed and if so what form(s) that might take.

Projected outcomes of the session include:

• A deeper and more holistic understanding of farm to institution work in the Northeast across sectors and institution
  
• A visual mapping of Northeast FTI efforts
  
• A clear sense of it and how participants want to further this discovery, mapping, and knowledge sharing process.
  

Confirmed Speakers/Facilitators:

• Peter Allison, Coordinator of the Farm to Institution New England (FINE) collaborative (www.farmtoinstitution.org) and Executive Director of the Upper Valley Farm to School Network
• Kelly Erwin, Director, Massachusetts Farm to School Project
• Christine James, Program Officer, John Merck Fund
• Thomas Forster, Policy Advisor, School Food FOCUS
• Kathy Lawrence, Program Director, School Food FOCUS

2.  Effective Communication for Emerging Leaders: Core Skills & Innovative Ideas for Working with Groups

Leaders: Lisa Fernandes, Eat Local Foods Coalition of Maine, with Doris Huang, Amanda Beal, Eva Agudelo Winther, and Chelsea Lewis

Focus: As an emerging leader, you want to ensure that each of your interactions helps to make you more effective, to strengthen your professional relationships and to grow your "social capital."  Explore innovative techniques for ensuring that all voices are heard and honored.  Gain credibility and more successfully meet your goals by becoming the kind of person with whom others want to make good things happen.

Expected Outcomes:

Through a combination of discussion, small-group and full group exercises, attendees will gain new skills and confidence, ready to...

• Design successful meetings, including effective venue selection, agenda-building, pre-work and meeting follow-up.
• Employ facilitation best practices to get optimal results for group work.
• Use Open Space Technology and other participatory and inclusive techniques, when needed, to ensure all relevant voices are heard.
• Diffuse and redirect challenging situations in order to stay on track and maintain fruitful professional relationships.
• Practice the Art of the One-on-One meeting in order to build and strengthen the connections you need in order to better achieve your mission.

Reference materials and templates will be made available to attendees in print and digital formats.

Audience:

Attend this session if you want to design better meetings, participate more effectively in meetings or if you want to enhance your skills to get credibility and trust among existing and new colleagues.  This session is particularly suited to helping you increase your effectiveness with a broad and diverse range of stakeholders from different backgrounds.

3.  Calling All Food Hub Practitioners (Workshop Full)

A NESAWG Pre-conference Training and Meeting for Northeast food hub     practitioners

Setting the current food hub “movement” in historic context, we will explore how Northeast food hubs can be more robust and resilient. In this two-part session, we’ll also gauge interest in forming a network of food hub practitioners.

Part 1 will investigate what is new and unique about the current wave of values-based aggregation and distribution businesses. We’ll see how lessons from the food cooperative distribution movement of the 1970s and ‘80s can help food hubs thrive into the future. Panel and group discussion will address:

• How can the current food hub movement grow into something long term?
• What are the greatest threats and risks to long-term viability of food hubs?
• Is scaling up the answer to long-term viability? If so, what factors determine what is big enough?
• Will our efforts be supplanted by bigger market forces? Is this to be avoided or is it a strategy for long-term positive impact?
• Can partnerships with existing distributors enhance triple-bottom-line food hub businesses?

Part 2 will explore interest among food hub operators to form a Northeast regional food hub network, trade association, or community of practice. Several regions have formed networks to serve practitioners and advocates of new food hub businesses. We ask:

• Would a cooperating network of like-minded individuals help support and advance your food hub operation?  How?
• What do you see as benefits of a network to our region? Drawbacks?
  • What functions and actions might such a network take on? (Meetings? Electronic communications? Data collection? Tours of facilities? Topical classes or workshops? Shared resources? Other?)
  • How might it be structured to work best for you?

We’ll come out of this two-part session with stronger connections, new ideas, and exciting possibilities to support your work and the Northeast food hub movement!

Facilitators: Ann Karlen, Fair Food; Michael Rozyne, Red Tomato; Jeff Farbman, Wallace Center at Winrock International

Panelists: Jesse Singerman, consultant, Iowa; Sue Futrell, Red Tomato, Massachusetts; Terry Appleby, general manager, Hanover Cooperative, New Hampshire

4.   Policy Planning Round Table:  by invitation, no fee

This meeting is geared to people in organizations actively working on federal policy. The purpose is to plan strategies for working on federal policy--including the Farm Bill at whatever stage it may be--and identify opportunities to increase collaboration and effectiveness. This session will be 1:30-4 pm.

Please contact Amy Little amylittle@hvc.rr.com or 845-255-0822 if you are interested in attending or want to suggest someone else. You do not need to pre-register for this meeting on the conference registration website, but you must contact Amy to confirm your participation. There is no charge.