DICKINSON, N.D. - For local food producers, figuring out how to bring your products to the people can be tough, but one woman hopes to provide an answer to it and other questions fledgling farmers may have at a free-to-attend event on Jan. 25.
"We are trying to build this body of knowledge as we go so at the end of the day people can say, 'Yeah, I think I can do more and this is how I do it,' " Ray Ann Kilen said in describing her hopes for for the "Local Foods for Local Kids" event starting at 9 a.m. at the Dickinson State University Ag Building Auditorium.
Kilen, a private consultant who works under contract with the Roosevelt-Custer Regional Council, has been working to help support the local food scene since last year. "We wrote a grant to try and get more people to understand that there is a market for local foods," she said. "That went really well."
Thursday's event will feature Deb Egeland, assistant director of child nutrition programs for the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. She will speak on topics such as contracts to provide food to schools and will provide helpful resources to farmers. Kevin Pavlish, environmental department head for the Southwest District Health Unit, will discuss local regulations.
There's no cost for admission, and there will be a free lunch provided by DSU's Ag Club. The event is supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development agency administered by the regional council.
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Kilen said she wants to use this support to establish introductory courses on farming, and teach producers how their products can be sold to child care centers and schools. Young families and retired people seemed to benefit from last year's events, she said.
Local Foods for Local Kids is not the only local food event that Kilen is organizing. Another all-day event in late February will discuss food Hubs, co-ops and more at Fluffy Fields Vineyard and Winery in Dickinson.
