Healthy Foods and Health Care Keynote 2nd Annual Local Foods Forum March 9 in Winona

CONTACT: Linda Grover, 507-457-6483, lgrover@co.winona.mn.us

2/28/07
WINONA, Minn. —Getting locally-produced food into health care facilities is one of several keynote topics Friday, March 9, when the second annual Local Foods Forum and Expo takes place at Winona’s Signatures Restaurant. “Healthy Farms, Healthy Foods, Healthy Folks” will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 4:30 p.m., with presentations, exhibits, and chef Matt Schoeller’s lunch included in the $15 ticket price. The deadline to register is Friday, March 2. Please call 507-457-6843 or e-mail lgrover@co.winona.mn.us.

 The event is once again being coordinated by the Winona County Economic Development Authority/Local Foods Subcommittee, with financial and organizational support from the Land Stewardship Project, Signatures Restaurant, and the University of Minnesota’s Experiment in Rural Cooperation and Southwest Research and Outreach Center.

Along with targeted attention on how and why to connect sustainable farmers with health care, the day will feature presentations on corporate relationships, health regulations, and school lunch issues. Michael Nash and other farmer members of the GROWN Locally cooperative will address how they sell products to health care facilities in northeast Iowa. Jamie Harvie, coordinator of the international Health Care Without Harm initiative based in Duluth, Minn., will lead off the day with insights into how hospitals in Minnesota and beyond are successfully sourcing regionally produced food for their kitchens and cafeterias.

Other presenters include: Jill Johnson, Winona County’s director of Environmental Services, on state and local regulations pertaining to preparing and selling food; Lisa Klein of Hidden Stream Farm in Elgin, Minn., on how to nurture corporate relationships; and Matt Schoeller on fixing the restaurant purchase paradigm. There will be plenty of time for discussion, networking and visiting with exhibitors.

Exhibit space is available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The exhibit fee is $30 and includes one registration and a covered table. Please contact Linda Grover for details at 507-457-6483 or lgrover@co.winona.mn.us.

Signatures Restaurant is located on CR17 less than one mile from the juncture of Homer Rd. and CR17 in Winona. For a detailed map, please go to www.signatureswinona.com.

The mission of the Economic Development Authority Local Foods Subcommittee is to facilitate an increase in the production and consumption of foods grown in the greater Winona region.

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NOTE: To download a program for the Local Foods Forum and Expo, see www.landstewardshipproject.org/pr/07/local_foods_winona.pdf.