Solving for Sustainability at the Chesapeake Food Summit
The Mid-Atlantic region has a rich and diverse agricultural landscape and history. Dozens of Native American tribes settled, developed, and cultivated many well-adapted, functional, and beautiful varieties of crops. Subsequent waves of European and African immigrants and enslaved peoples took this tremendous amount of agricultural R&D and wove in their own crops, practices, and culinary traditions into the area’s agriculture, building a food system composed of many cultural threads. Today, the hilly topography, humid climate, and a population of about 60 million relatively affluent eaters create tremendous opportunity for smaller-scale, independently-owned and -operated farms to persist. However, many of the sustainability frameworks and certifications that aim to reward and advance the values typified by these growers pose new challenges. Can we work across the food system from producers to distributors, to manufacturers, to end consumers to navigate these consumer demand realities in a way that remains inclusive to independent small- and mid-scale regional producers?
To get to the bottom of this question and others, I’ll be hosting a Solution Session, “Regional Distribution: Certifying the Value of Sustainable Food,” at The Chesapeake Food Summit. Tony Brusco, CEO of South Mountain Creamery; Amy Bachman, Procurement and Sustainability Director for DC Central Kitchen; and Rachel Terry from The Common Market will bring their observations, insights, and ongoing challenges to a lively discussion on how we can work together to keep moving the food system forward on the issues we all care about - animal welfare, fair labor practices and an inclusive economy, and environmental impact - in a way that consumers can trust and support, without excluding those striving to deliver these same values in our regional food system.
Key to all of this is trust, transparency and authenticity. Rather than being perfect, I believe the best course forward is one that enables farmers and eaters and their supply chain partners to take stock of where we are, prioritize where we want to make progress, and then work in partnership to move forward. To do this, supply chain partners need effective, usable, and easily deploy-able tools to engage in these conversations with their customers and their suppliers. Knowing, and measuring values of key stakeholder groups at a regular cadence is the only way we can move together in partnership. Through transparency, all members of the food system can have confidence in our collective power to build a more sustainable, humane, and fair world through food.
If you want to be part of the discussion, you can get tickets here or if cost is a barrier to your participation, please send me an email at alison.grantham@growwellconsulting.com and I may be able to connect you with tickets.
