Food is at the heart of every community. It brings families and neighbors together, defines and blends culture, nourishes health, and fuels life. And the system of producing, processing and distributing food creates jobs, engenders opportunity, drives innovation and productivity, and facilitates creative expression, especially in underserved rural and urban areas.

But in the face of resource scarcity and growing global demand, we need a new regional model for our food system capable of building community resilience.

How do we get there? We are helping entities that spend millions on food &mdash including school cafeterias, university dining halls, corporate cafes, and regional restaurant chains — buy local. We coordinate the development of scale-appropriate aggregation, processing, and distribution infrastructure to move food within regions. We support family-scale farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and food processors to access land, capital, and technical assistance needed to feed their communities and steward their land. And we inspire eaters to choose and champion homegrown.

Our blueprint for a resilient regional food economy