The Western Maryland Food Council (WMFC), a project of Western Maryland RC&D, convened its first regional food system conference on April 12, 2019 at Allegany College of Maryland. The conference, “Our Food, Our Future: Cultivating Western Maryland’s Food Future”, was attended by more than 160 people and was a great success in many ways. Based on the community support, innovative speakers, and pragmatic input provided by participants, the WMFC will continue and improve its work to chart a course to a positive future for the food system in Western Maryland.
The conference was organized to help citizens meet, learn about, and interact with diverse stakeholders, leaders and experts and to engage in dialogue about the importance of a healthy food system in the unique region of Western Maryland. The goal of the conference was to spur ideas within the community to approach holistic solutions to food system challenges. Using the ideas from the conference, the Food Council will implement projects and policies to achieve solutions.
Working with WMFC, major conference partners and co-sponsors included University of Maryland Extension, Western Maryland Resource Conservation and Development Council, Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future, and Allegany College of Maryland. Major sponsors included Garrett County Economic Development, and grant funding was provided by the Rural Maryland Council. Additional sponsorship support came from Western Maryland Health System, Maryland Farm Bureau, First United Bank and Trust, MARBIDCO, LaVale Pharmacy, Farm Credit, and Frostburg State University.
Conference keynote speakers were Anne Palmer, Mark Winne and Caitlin Misiaszek, all from the Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future (CLF). Palmer, CLF Food Communities and Public Health Program Director, presented information on what food policy councils are, their purposes and variety of organizational structures, and their increasing numbers and positive impacts in the U.S. Winne, CLF Senior Advisor, spoke about the importance of citizen democracy and “food democracy” and how the Western Maryland Food Council can play an important role in fostering food democracy in the region. One of Winne’s primary messages was the need for collective impact. For successful community food system impact, he stated that citizens must 1) agree on a vision and a set of goals for the food system; 2) each agree to implement some part of the action plan; 3) talk to each other frequently; 4) agree to common measures so that progress can be monitored; and 5) agree to one central coordinating hub or entity. Winne and other conference organizers and speakers proposed that the Western Maryland Food Council can serve as this central coordinating hub for food system improvement.
More information on the conference is online at the WMFC Facebook page and at www.wmdfoodcouncil.com/conference. The full results of the conference will be compiled in a conference report, which will be posted on the Food Council website. A draft of this report is available on request.
The Western Maryland Food Council (WMFC) is an organization committed to improving the food system by bringing together stakeholders to enhance the environmental, economic, social, and nutritional health of Western Maryland. Through partnerships, policy initiatives, and projects, the WMFC aims to integrate aspects of the food system to sustain and strengthen our local food economy and community.
For more information about the conference, visit the Western Maryland Food Council website at www.wmdfoodcouncil.com or phone the University of Maryland Extension office at 301-724-3320. For more information on the Western Maryland Food Council, contact Dan Fiscus, Coordinator at 301-724-3320 or Willie Lantz, Chair at 301-334-6960.