Thank You

A big thanks to everyone who helped make this conference a success!

Download the Conference Program (PDF)

We are posting handouts and other workshop materials from the conference for you to use.  Photos are posted on Flickr.com. Please send your photos from the conference to aleta@foodsecurity.org to be included in the Flickr set.  Subscribe to our email list, or follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates regarding upcoming conferences.

About the Conference

The Community Food Security Coalition’s annual conference is back better than ever. Join 750 of your colleagues for the nation’s primary food systems networking and educational event in Des Moines. The conference includes four days of inspiring presentations, scintillating workshops, fantastic networking opportunities, delectable local eats, and fun field trips around the state.

This year’s conference will include a special one day gathering of state and local food policy council organizers and practitioners on Saturday, October 10.

The conference will include plenaries on building networks for food system change, labor and immigration policy, and strategies for change of the industrial food system. Also featured will be 50 workshops, a food film festival, six field trips, the 1st annual Food Sovereignty Prize Award presentation, business meetings and structured networking time, lunch and learns, and an exhibit hall. Workshops will focus on farm to cafeteria, food access in rural and urban communities, food politics and projects in the Heartland, labor and immigration in community food systems, international food security, local foods, food access in underserved communities, and much more.

The conference is being held immediately prior to the World Food Prize. We encourage you to find out more about this event at www.worldfoodprize.org. CFSC attendees can attend the Iowa Hunger Summit and its luncheon on Tuesday October 13 at no charge. See the World Food Prize website for more information.

Why Des Moines?

The CFSC conference returns to the Heartland after a five-year absence. We chose Iowa as the site for this year’s event for a few reasons. First, after twelve years of holding conferences in major metropolitan areas, this is our first chance to delve into the food security issues and opportunities in rural America. Second, Iowa is the epicenter of the nation’s corn and soybean sector. Eighty nine percent of Iowa land is in farms, and one in every five jobs in the state is related to agriculture. The Heartland presents us with unique opportunities and challenges to change the structure of mainstream agriculture in the US. Finally, Iowa can showcase some of the most advanced projects and thinking about community food security in the country. The folks here are doing some amazing but often overlooked work. Make a point of checking out one of the nation’s best kept secrets.