Workshop on Sustainably Growing the Local Food Economy

Find out why local linkages matter and strategize next steps for sustainably growing the Central Puget Sound's local food economy.

10 am to 5 pm, Monday, February 18th, 2008.

You are welcome to attend all or part of the day.

Location: Northwest Environmental Education Council (www.nweec.org)

650 S. Orcas Street, Suite 220, South Seattle

Map to Location: http://tinyurl.com/2o8sgf.  There is free parking on site.

This workshop is a rare opportunity to come together with a cross-section of the local food economy's businesses and food activists to strategize actions from a whole system's perspective.  The workshop grows out of Sustainable Seattle's ground-breaking research on the local food economy.

The research shows that spending our food dollars locally supports a web of relationships, rooted in place, which serve to restore the land and regenerate community.  At the same time, this web of relationships needs to be strengthened and expanded to change the bigger picture of an increasingly unsustainable food system.

What's Happening at the Workshop

10 to 12: Review of Research Findings

12 to 1: Local Food Lunch

1 to 1:45: Press Conference with Local Food Economy Businesses

2 to 5: Developing Action Plans around Strategies Based on Findings

More on the Research

Sustainable Seattle has published its report, Why Local Linkages Matter: Findings from the Local Food Economy Study, for public comment.  The report provides a new approach to analyzing the economics of the food system, new support for developing strong local linkages, and new strategies for taking action to grow the local food economy.

You are invited to reach and comment on the report prior to its final publication, following the February 18th workshop.  The report can be downloaded at:

www.sustainableseattle.org/Programs/localfoodeconomy