The campus is accessible by car, RIPTA / Greyhound / Bonanza bus, and Amtrak / MBTA train: directions and campus map. Free time-unlimited street parking is available a few blocks north. We recommend arriving a few minutes early to find a spot. Brown also offers an on-campus pay parking lot.
- Brown Dining Services
- Farm Fresh Rhode Island
- RI Division of Agriculture
The yearly networking event for Rhode Island food producers and buyers.
2009 Save the Date: The next Local Food Forum will be Wednesday, February 4.
Over 200 people — farmers, chefs, food service buyers, advocates and students — attended the 2008 Local Food Forum. Thank you for making this year another success!
8:30 Check-in, Coffee, Tea and Pastries
9 Introduction and Welcome
- Ken Ayars, Chief of RI DEM Division of Agriculture
- Noah Fulmer, Executive Director of Farm Fresh Rhode Island
9:30 Panel on Year-round Local Food
- Jonathan Cambra, Executive Chef, Castle Hill, Newport
runs a reknowned kitchen that has pioneered seasonal menuing and farm-to-restaurant relationships in Rhode Island; has worked with partner growers to increase the availability of local foods in the winter - Allan Hill, Hill Orchards, Johnston
operates a cold storage facility for extending the harvest of apples and other farms' veggies; makes cider and vinegar with seconds; runs daily deliveries across the state, supplying dozens of customers with apples and local veggies from other farms en route - Karla Simmons, Simmons Farm, Middletown
manages a winter CSA for veggies, eggs, meat and cheese; grows for the Providence Wintertime Farmers' Market; has been expanding the farm's greenhouses to increase production of winter greens - Mike Marrocco, Food Service Director, Cranston Public Schools
has made Cranston a farm-to-school leader by using personal relationships and creative ideas to cut through red tape to get fresh foods to students, often a challenge given picky tastes and the September to June school calendar
Hear from the experts. Local purchasing best practices from both farmer and buyer perspectives. New ideas and directions about growing and preserving for the cooler months, seasonal menuing and year-round availability.
11:15 Speed Networking
Meet all the people you should know but don't yet. The farmer who will be growing your tomatoes next year will be here. As will the food service director who will buy the thirty extra bushels of corn you harvested. Priceless connections in 45 minutes or less.
12 Lunch and Mingle
Grab a bite and track down the people you circled on your list.
1 Affinity Roundtables
Thirty minute gatherings centered around specific challenges or aspects of local food sourcing. Join in on the tables with the topics most pertinent to your interests.
2:30 Wrap-up
Information about the Local Food Forum in 2007 and 2006 and 2005 is still available if you're curious.