US (CA): Grow Local OC explores the future of urban food systems

Early Bird Special Tickets are now available for the annual Seedstock Conference, Grow Local OC: The Future of Urban Food Systems, presented in partnership with the Orange County Food Access Coalition. The conference is slated for Nov. 10 – 11, 2016 at California State University, Fullerton in Orange County. It will focus on the community and economic development potential of urban food systems efforts across southern California and the country to improve food access and health outcomes, connect people to their food, and create new jobs and business opportunities by employing innovative business models and farming systems of the future. Below are additional details on the two-day conference.

Day 1: Conference day (Nov. 10, 2016)
Attendees will convene at the Portola Pavilion on the campus of California State University, Fullerton in Orange County, CA for a series of panels and keynotes that will address such topic areas as the importance of local food systems development for cities, the economic potential of indoor agriculture, the expansion of the local food marketplace, urban farming and local food access, community gardens and farms, and more.

Confirmed speakers

Karen Ross - Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture
Mark Lowry - Director of the Orange County Food Bank
Rachel Surls - Sustainable Food Systems Advisor for UC Cooperative Extension
Chef Adam Navidi - Founder, Future Foods Farms and Oceans & Earth Restaurant
Rishi Kumar - Co-founder and Director of The Growing Club
Christina Hall - Executive Director of OC Food Access Coalition
Erik Cutter - Managing Director of Alegria Fresh
Dwight Detter - Executive Director, Slow Money SoCal
Colin and Karen Archipley - Co-founders of Archi's Acres and the VSAT Program
Aaron Fox - Asst. Professor, Urban & Community Agriculture at Cal Poly Pomona
Chris Higgins - General Manager at Hort Americas
Megan Penn - Executive Director of Orange Home Grown
Sara E. Johnson - Director of the Urban Agriculture Community-based Research Experience (U-ACRE) program at Cal State Fullerton
...and more!

Day 2: The Urban Food Systems Field Trip (Nov. 11, 2016)
The Urban Food Systems Field Trip will offer a limited number of attendees an excursion into the diversity of innovative urban and state-of-the-art agriculture operations across Orange County. Tour participants will be treated to lectures and sessions from pioneering farmers who are embracing innovative business models and growing systems to both increase food security and take advantage of the escalating demand for local food. Scheduled stops on the tour thus far include:

Future Foods Farms – Future Foods Farms, located on 25 acres in Brea, California, produces all organically grown products in its 2,000-4,000 square-feet greenhouses and is one of the largest aquaponic farms in the state.
Urban Produce – Irvine-based Urban Produce has developed the patented High Density Vertical Growing System (HDVGS) as a sustainable alternative to traditional agriculture, utilizing advanced hydroponic technologies in a controlled environment.
Alegria Fresh – Alegría Fresh, located in Irvine, CA is a zero-waste, solar-powered one-acre high performance urban microfarm employing hydro-organic and hybrid soil-based growing systems.
Control Air Community Farm – Control Air Community Farm in Anaheim is an aquaponics farm, a farming system that combines elements of aquaculture and hydroponics. The farm uses minimal water to operate and produces over 2,000 pounds of food for underserved residents.

For more information:
Grow Local OC Conference
sponsor@growlocaloc.com
participant@growlocaloc.com
growlocaloc.eventbrite.com