Inspired at the CFSA Sustainable Agricultural Conference

Written by Juliann Zoetmulder, President WWFM Inc.

It was the 25th annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference (Dec 3-5), but it was the WWFM’s first time in attendance. We were delighted and humbled to be asked to speak during a workshop called “Getting the Basics Right: The Nuts and Bolts of a Successful Market.” Kim Hunter, WWFM Market Manager, and I told people how we were able to start a successful farmers’ market. The amazing part about our story is that it was our community that started this together, and our community is what continues to make it successful. We are professional and we take our business seriously, but the volunteers, vendors, and customers that come week after week deserve the most credit.

We decided to go to this conference because of the WWFM, however, now that I’ve been, I would go again just for the food. The conference was held at the Marriott in Winston Salem and someone at some point from CFSA made a deal with the hotel that we had to drink our own sustainable Kool-Aid. Yes, friends all the meals were sourced from sustainable farms across the state. Each dish had a table tent describing the dish and which farms supplied it. The meal Saturday night culminated in a carving station featuring Rosemary Crusted Steamships from Apple Brandy Beef, Big Oak Farm, and Proffitt Family Farm.

After the dinner, the keynote speaker topped dessert. His name is Michael Shuman. Some may know him from his books, The Smallmart Revolutions: How Local Businesses are Beating the Global Competition and Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age. He addressed the idea that our communities benefit tremendously from buying local and not just by feeling good. He gives compelling macroeconomic reasons for buying local.

There is something for everyone at this conference from the beginning farmer to the gardening, cooking, and eating activist. I attended market structures and buildings, as well as one on canning and backyard fruit trees. I stood outside in freezing temperatures watching Bountiful Backyards plant a fig tree at the Urban Ministries site. I have to say that I’m not so intimidated to plant a tree in clay soil anymore, but I may call them when I'm ready to help out just in case.

If you want to learn and be inspired by what others are doing in local food realm, put the conference on your calendar for next year.