PORTLAND, Ore – FoodHub’s acting director Amanda Oborne will join U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan and 60 other local and regional food leaders at the White House today for a summit on food initiatives across the country.
The forum begins at 11:30am PST (2:30pm EST) and will be tweeted live by Oborne (@food_hub) and other attendees using the hashtag #KYF2.
KYF2 refers to the USDA’s recently launched Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative, which maps out local and regional food resources across the country, from education and research to local meat packers and cold storage facilities. More at usda.gov/kyfcompass
This is the second time in the last 12 months that FoodHub leaders have headed to the White House. Deborah Kane, the founder of FoodHub and now the director of the USDA’s Farm to School program, met with President Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at a summit on rural America last July.
At the event today, Oborne will be joined by farmers, food entrepreneurs, buyers, retailers, policy analysts, economic developers, tech designers and many others engaged in local and regional food systems. During the event, Deputy Secretary Merrigan will demonstrate the new Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass and lead a discussion with participants about building America’s local and regional food systems.
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About Ecotrust — www.ecotrust.org
Ecotrust’s mission is to foster a natural model of development that creates more resilient communities, economies and ecosystems here and around the world. Over more than 20 years, Ecotrust has converted $80 million in grants into more than $500 million in capital for local people, businesses, and organizations from Alaska to California. Ecotrust’s many innovations include co-founding the world’s first environmental bank, starting the world’s first ecosystem investment fund, creating a range of programs in fisheries, forestry, food, farms and indigenous affairs, and developing new scientific and information tools to improve social, economic and environmental decision-making. Ecotrust works locally in ways that promise hope abroad, and it takes inspiration from the wisdom of Native and First Nation leadership in its work. Learn more at www.ecotrust.org
About FoodHub – www.food-hub.org
Launched in 2010, FoodHub is a project of Ecotrust. The tool was developed with private foundation, nonprofit and government resources, and intended for broad use throughout the food and agricultural communities. Now in its second year, FoodHub has invited more than 3,200 farmers, ranchers, dairies, fishermen, restaurants, schools, hospitals, and chefs to connect with each other and create a more robust regional food economy.