Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

News & Notes

Back to Leopold Letter Summer 2012

Report on food networks

A new report from Michigan State University documents the collective impacts of the Regional Food Systems Working Group (RFSWG) in Iowa and how to use networks to build resilient local and regional food systems. Creating Change in the Food System: The Role of Regional Food Networks in Iowa was written by Rich Pirog, who leads the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems and formerly coordinated the Regional Food Systems Working Group (RFSWG) in Iowa, where he was associate director at the Leopold Center and its Marketing and Food Systems Initiative leader. The report is co-authored by Corry Bregendahl, an assistant scientist and evaluator at the Leopold Center. The report is on the new MSU Center’s website here.

Local food leaders

Another report, The Current State of Regional Food System Work in Iowa, summarizes interviews with leaders of 15 local food groups across Iowa that were conducted in Summer 2011 by Leopold Center intern Joanna Hamilton, a graduate student from Tufts University.  Many of the leaders, who have been active in the Regional Food Systems Working Group, reported numerous successes and strategies that complement consumers’ growing interest in local foods. Read the report on the Leopold Center website.

Food hub guide

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service is offering a new resource for local food development, a 93-page Regional Food Hub Resource Guide.  Food hubs are businesses or organizations that connect producers with buyers by offering a suite of production, distribution and marketing services. This business model allows farmers of all sizes to meet the growing consumer demand for fresh, local food and access by gaining commercial and larger volume markets such as grocery stores, hospitals and schools. Download the report here.

Back to Leopold Letter Summer 2012