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“Grow Riverside” Urban Ag Conference Cultivates CURE Scholarship Competition Opportunity for Students

March 14, 2014 |

Scholars aching for an opportunity to help the environment, stimulate local urban agriculture, and, perhaps, win some financial compensation along the way have been offered a sustainable CURE.

Sponsored by the Citizens United for Resources and the Environment (CURE), in partnership with Seedstock’s “Grow Riverside: Citrus and Beyond!” conference, the CURE Challenge is open to full-time high school, college and university students. The contest charges participants with the task of developing economically viable strategies or land use plans to transform the future of local agriculture in Riverside. Scholarships in the amount of $1000, $500, and $250 will be awarded for the three best submissions.

“A young person’s ideas could be just the catalyst needed to revolutionize sustainable urban agriculture in the Riverside area,” said Malissa McKeith, CURE president. “By tapping into their passion for protecting the environment and developing a creative action plan, three students will secure scholarships for their efforts. It’s a winning opportunity for the students, the city, and the environment.”

Designed as a grassroots, community outreach program to engage youth creativity and entrepreneurship, the CURE Challenge will be launched at the “Grow Riverside: Citrus and Beyond!” conference, March 19-20 at the Riverside Convention Center. For additional information and competition rules, please visit http://www.growriverside.com/take-the-cure-grow-riverside-challenge/.

In addition to CURE, other sponsors providing support for the “Grow Riverside” event, include: Salted Pig Restaurant, Kaiser Permanente, Western Municipal Water District, UC Riverside, Riverside County Economic Development Agency, Riverside Public Utilities, Wicks Brewing Company, Galleano Winery, Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District, California Baptist University, Riverside Community Health Foundation, Netafim USA, Adkan Engineers, Burrtec, Gless Ranch, Gresham Savage, and CR&R.

Organized for the city of Riverside by Seedstock co-founder Robert Puro, the conference has been formulated as a model for cities looking to enhance local agriculture. Conference registration is filling up fast and reservations for the opening night “Citrus Circle Dinner” are limited. To register for the conference, please visit http://growriverside.eventbrite.com

About Seedstock

Seedstock is a social venture that fosters the development of robust and sustainable local food systems through consulting services and the use of a variety of tools, including the news and information blog Seedstock (http://www.Seedstock.com ) and live events. Seedstock works with government agencies, municipalities and all private sector stakeholders to create a sustainable food ecosystem of innovation, entrepreneurship and investment.

About the City of Riverside

The City of Riverside made the navel orange a symbol of bounty and a household staple in California. Today the City maintains more than 1,000 acres of citrus groves. As Riverside continues to grow, so does local pride for the City’s rich agricultural history and consumer demand for healthful local foods. A full 11 percent of the city’s total acreage is designated for agricultural use, unparalleled for a Southern California city of its size. Riverside’s growers, local government officials, and residents are at the forefront of innovation as a city devoted to sustainable local agriculture.

Seedstock’s “Grow Riverside” Sustainable Agriculture Conference Enhances Event with Nationally Known Experts

February 26, 2014 |

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Spearheading the movement to assist cities develop more urban sustainable farming within their environs, the “Grow Riverside: Citrus and Beyond!” conference continues to expand its stellar program lineup with notable authorities in resource management, agricultural growth strategies and public policy. The March 19-20 event presented by Seedstock in partnership with the City and Community of Riverside will be held at the Riverside Convention Center.

Appearing as opening night keynote is Richard Conlin, who created Seattle’s local food initiative while serving as a City Councilmember. Conlin will talk about how to develop and establish urban sustainable agricultural policies – from land-use to funding efforts.

“Local food policy is a key element in creating environmental sustainability, economic prosperity and improved public health,” Conlin said. “I hope my experience can help provide guidance on how to put this into practice.”

Conlin’s “Citrus Circle Dinner” presentation will culminate the farm-to-fork dining event sponsored by The Salted Pig, Downtown Riverside’s gastro pub noted for incorporating local citrus into both its cocktail and culinary creations.

Conference participants also will garner insight from several newly added speakers. Salted Pig owner and Riverside native, Ronaldo Fierro, will join Don Nishiguchi, regional local produce buyer for Whole Foods Market, Martin Anenberg, founder of So Cal Farm Network, and Gayle Shockey-Hoxter, Program Chief for the County of Riverside Department of Public Health, Nutrition & Health, in exploring the “Marketing Opportunity for Local Agriculture.” Leah Di Bernardo, executive chef for E.A.T. (Extraordinary Artisan Table), will assist in an examination of “The Value and Meaning of Local Agriculture.” Noah Fulmer, director of capacity building at Local Orbit and co-founder and former executive director of Farm Fresh Rhode Island, will collaborate on a review of “Local Ag Growth Strategies.” Mark Hoddle, director of the Center for Invasive Species at UC Riverside, along with fellow experts, will consider the economic viability of growing citrus in Riverside.

grow riverside speakers

From left to right: Richard Conlin, former Seattle City Councilmember who established the city’s Local Food Action Initiative; Leah Di Bernardo, exec. chef at E.A.T. Extraordinary Artisan and Slow Food Movement proponent; and Don Nishiguchi, Regional local produce buyer for Whole Foods Market for the Southern Pacific region.

Rounding out the conference will be several pragmatic offerings, including: “Resources and Responsibility” – how a city’s land, water, energy and community resources can be sustainably managed and leveraged to create a successful local agriculture economy; as well as, “From Start to Finish: Setting up an economically viable operation on a 1 – 2 acre plot.”

Organized for the city of Riverside by Seedstock co-founder Robert Puro, the conference has been formulated as a model for cities looking to enhance local agriculture. For additional information pertaining to the event, ticket prices, panels, program speakers, and registration, please visit www.growriverside.com.

About Seedstock

Seedstock is a social venture that fosters the development of robust and sustainable local food systems through consulting services and the use of a variety of tools, including the news and information blog Seedstock (www.Seedstock.com) and live events. Seedstock works with government agencies, municipalities and all private sector stakeholders to create a sustainable food ecosystem of innovation, entrepreneurship and investment.

About the City of Riverside

The City of Riverside made the navel orange a symbol of bounty and a household staple in California. Today the City maintains more than 1,000 acres of citrus groves. As Riverside continues to grow, so does local pride for the City’s rich agricultural history and consumer demand for healthful local foods. A full 11 percent of the city’s total acreage is designated for agricultural use, unparalleled for a Southern California city of its size. Riverside’s growers, local government officials, and residents are at the forefront of innovation as a city devoted to sustainable local agriculture.

Contact:
The Wolcott Company
Denis Wolcott, 213-200-1563
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‘Grow Riverside’ Conference to Focus on Sustainably Re-integrating Agriculture into Cities

February 12, 2014 |

grow riverside conference speakers

Re-integrating agriculture into cities, developing economically viable urban farming operations on small plots of land, exploring how best to implement policy to support and foster such endeavors – these are but a few of the important issues and opportunities that will be examined in depth at the upcoming Seedstock ‘Grow Riverside’ conference on March 19 – 20 at the Riverside Convention Center in Riverside, CA.

The conference will focus on the development of urban agriculture strategies and solutions that cities can use to reconnect with their agricultural roots and create economic opportunities that investors, citizens, growers, government officials and other major stakeholders can leverage to foster a robust and sustainable local food future.

The event is PRESENTED in partnership with the City and Community of Riverside by SEEDSTOCK, a social venture that fosters the development of robust and sustainable local food systems through the use of a variety of tools, including the news and information blog seedstock.com, live events and consulting services.

Register now to receive the Seed Saver Special Rate to learn from and interact with these experts:

http://growriverside.eventbrite.com

We have an exciting list of expert speakers from across the sustainable agriculture spectrum including:

Richard Conlin – Former Seattle City Councilmember and prime mover behind Seattle’s ‘Local Food Action Initiative,’ passed in 2008, that envisions an exciting new urban agriculture model that is good for the economy, the environment, and our health.

Dr. Glenda Humiston – California State Director for U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development.  Humiston brings over 25 years of experience working on public policy development and program implementation supporting sustainability.

Rodney K. Taylor – Director of Nutrition Services, for the Riverside Unified School District. A noted pioneer, and expert in farm-to-school salad bars, he is particularly known for establishing the “Farmers’ Market Salad Bar” (FMSB) program in 1997, while working as Director of Food and Nutrition Services in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, in Santa Monica, California.

Pierre Sleiman – Founder of Go Green Agriculture, a company that builds high tech mini-farms in or near large cities. Pierre is a young entrepreneur, who has become involved in the mission of accelerating the movement towards local and sustainable farming and fostering interest in youth to choose agriculture as an exciting career.

Curt Covington – Managing Director, Agribusiness Banking Division for Bank of the West. With 34 years of agricultural banking experience, Curt is responsible for managing the growth and performance of the bank’s $1.5 billion regional agricultural loan portfolio.

Bob Knight – Founder of Old Grove Farm Share, which make local growers sustainable by connecting them to local families and school districts via direct sales.

Leah Di Bernardo – Partner in Cultivating Good and Co-leader of Slow Food Temecula Valley. Di Bernardo is also the award-winning Chef of E.A.T Extraordinary Artisan Table, a locally grown Eatery in the Temecula Valley. Dedicated to providing farm foraged, hand crafted fair, since 2002. E.A.T’s business-mission statement champions purchasing local and supporting your neighbors, as this stimulates the region’s economy and creates conviviality, loyalty & community.

Hassan Ghamlouch – Co-founder of The Grove, a 10-acre organic family farm located in the Riverside ‘Greenbelt’. The Grove is committed to Organic growing practices with an emphasis on sustainable farming and conserving natural resources.

Register now to receive the Seed Saver Special Rate to learn from and interact with these experts:

http://growriverside.eventbrite.com

Additional notable speakers include:

Representative Mark Takano – California’s 41st Congressional District
Val Dolcini – State Executive Director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA)
Paula Daniels – Founder of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council
Don Webber – Partner, Cultivating Good, Inc. and Owner of Harvest 2U
Dwight Detter – Local Forager, Whole Foods Market
Etaferahu Takele – County Director/Area Advisor Farm Management/Agricultural Economics
Milt McGiffen – Cooperative Extension Vegetable Crops Specialist & Plant Physiologist
Gabriel Ruiz – Unity Farm
David Rosenstein – Founder of EVO Farm and Chair of the Aquaponics Association – Western Region
Fortino Morales III – Community Garden Coordinator at University of California, Riverside
Rickey Smith – Founder of Urban Green
Noah Fulmer – Farm Fresh Rhode Island
Rick Pruetz (FAICP) – Founder of Planning & Implementation Strategies
Gregg Warren – American AgCredit
Erika Block – Local Orbit
John Gless – Gless Ranch
Robert Hewitt – USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Clay Monroe – Principal Account Manager for the City of Riverside Public Utilities Department
… and more!

Register now to receive the Seed Saver Special Rate to learn from and interact with these experts:

http://growriverside.eventbrite.com

New Speakers Added to Slate for Urban Ag-Focused Grow Riverside Conference on March 19 – 20

February 3, 2014 |

Notable experts in urban agriculture, new farm financing, local food systems development, vegetable crop cultivation, food hubs and digital technology have been added to what’s shaping up to be a blockbuster slate of speakers for the Urban Ag-focused Grow Riverside: Citrus and Beyond! Conference, which will be held at the Riverside Convention Center on March 19 – 20, 2014 in partnership with the City and Community of Riverside.

The conference will focus on the development of urban agriculture and local food system strategies and solutions that cities, Riverside in this particular case, can use to reconnect with their agricultural roots and create economic opportunities that investors, citizens, growers, government officials and other major stakeholders can leverage to foster a robust and sustainable local food future.

Register now to receive the Seed Saver Discount rate at: http://growriverside.eventbrite.com

New additions to the program include:

photoMartin Anenberg, founder of So Cal Farm Network, started buying and selling locally grown produce in 2004. His first customer was a school district in Los Angeles County that ordered once a week for many of its elementary school’s salad bars.

After growing his business to include restaurants and institutions, Martin joined forces with one of the major produce distributors in downtown Los Angeles. It was this experience where he gained first hand knowledge of how large scale agriculture and distribution worked.

Martin’s mission is to develop a local produce supply chain that resembles the efficiency and positive aspects of mainstream agricultural distribution. By creating a one stop solution for wholesalers, restaurants, institutions, and CSA’s , businesses can focus on what they do best and easily purchase source-verified farm products.

Martin’s past work experiences include Entrepreneur-in-Residence for the University of Massachusetts, Locally Grown Manager for Worldwide Produce, and Business Development Manager for Freshpoint of Southern California. Martin currently serves as a member of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council and as a member of the Los Angeles Regional Food Hub Group, which is headed by the Center of Food and Justice at Occidental College. Martin’s work has been featured on PBS’s former series “Life and Times.”

Don Farm 150Don Webber, Partner, Cultivating Good, Inc. brings more than 20 years experience in both corporate and non-profit management, leadership and governance to the Cultivating Good team. He has applied his entrepreneurialism to start-up, local and national companies and non-profit organizations. Don is currently a Board Member of Slow Food Temecula Valley.

After creating Harvest 2U, a successful third party CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) delivering locally grown organic produce in Riverside and San Diego Counties, Don joined forces with E.A.T Marketplace to form Cultivating Good. The purpose of Cultivating Good is to promote awareness, foster education, improve health and create jobs in our communities through a focus on sustainable agriculture and the craft-food industry. Cultivating Good brings an entrepreneurial approach to managing and distributing good, clean, local food literally from the ground to the plate.

Leah di bernardo 150Leah Di Bernardo is the award-winning Chef of E.A.T Extraordinary Artisan Table, a locally grown Eatery in the Temecula Valley. Dedicated to providing farm foraged, hand crafted fair, since 2002. E.A.T’s business-mission statement champions purchasing local and supporting your neighbors, as this stimulates the region’s economy and creates conviviality, loyalty & community.

Di Bernardo learned how important small farmers were at a young age while helping her dad on their Oregon farm. It was at this time that she truly fell in love with the art of scratch cooking and the idea that creating a wholesome meal does more than just feed the body – it feeds the soul. After more than 10 years as an accomplished producer in the film and television industry, Leah wanted to pass along these core values to her own daughter, Gabrielle Rose, who’s now 11 years old, and a food advocate in her own right!

So with her sass, her creativity, her ever-present warmth and compassion, Leah now produces great food and phenomenal events- all this while championing, and fighting for small farmers rights and Artisan food producers growth! The Slow Food Movement is at the heart of everything Leah does. She is passionate about the world community of farmers as well as the local food movement and strives to keep traditions and family food heritage alive within all of this. “The food we eat affects how we think, feel and treat others. So eat good, clean food,” she regularly tells customers, family, and friends.

Jenna headshot 150Jenna Smith is the Executive Director of Central Coast Grown, a non-profit organization that works to develop a sustainable regional food system in San Luis Obispo County. Over the last several years she has collaborated directly with the City of San Luis Obispo to bring a 20-acre, multi-enterprise educational farm into production. Currently she serves as the Chair for the San Luis Obispo County Food Systems Coalition and sits on the state-wide California Food Policy Council. Jenna holds a dual M.A. in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development from American University (Washington, D.C.) and the United Nations-Mandated University for Peace (Costa Rica).

milt mcgiffen-botany cropped 150Milt McGiffen is UCR’s Extension Vegetable Specialist and Vice Chair for Extension. He grew up in the rolling farmland and forests of rural western Pennsylvania, earning his BS from Penn State and MS from NCSU. After graduating with his PhD from the University of Illinois, Milt worked as a Research Agronomist for the North Central Soil Conservation Laboratory before beginning his 22 years at UCR. He conducts applied research on crop production, weed management, organic agriculture, and the ecosystem services provided by agriculture. His extension program covers the full range of crop production issues, including training Master Gardener’s and pest control advisors. He has worked in Ukraine, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, China, and several other countries as part of USAID and other programs for small farmers. Dr. McGiffen is particularly interested in bringing together urban dwellers and farmers to sustain agriculture, provide healthy local food, and maintain the environment.

Erika Block is the Founder and CEO of Local Orbit, which provides sales and business management tools for the entrepreneurs & organizations building the New Food Economy. Local Orbit helps build profitable businesses and healthier communities.

Prior to Local Orbit, Erika founded and ran an entrepreneurial arts organization, producing cross-sector partnerships in the US, Great Britain and South Africa. She also led the renovation of a vacant building in Detroit into a theater, gallery and bar where she worked with vendors to source local food for events. Throughout her career, Erika has created collaborative environments that facilitate learning and action. She has an MFA from Columbia University, and did graduate work in Interactive Technology at NYU. Erika comes from a family of fruit peddlers, meat processors, restaurant owners and wholesalers. She is a PopTech Social Innovation Fellow. Other awards include Crain’s Detroit Business 40 Under 40.

Covington Curt 2012 150Curt Covington is a Managing Director and Area Manager for the Agribusiness Banking Division at San Francisco-based Bank of the West. Bank of the West ranks as the 3rd largest agricultural lender among commercial banks in the United States.

With 34 years of agricultural banking experience, Curt is responsible for managing the growth and performance of the bank’s $1.5 billion regional agricultural loan portfolio.

Prior to joining Bank of the West in 2006, Curt spent a good part of his early banking career in the Farm Credit system followed by a period as a credit administrator with Rabobank. He is the past chairman of the American Bankers Association Ag and Rural Bankers Committee in Washington DC and is the present chairman of the RMA Agricultural Bankers Committee. Curt serves as co-chair and manages two agricultural Lender programs: The Agricultural Lending Institute, a joint venture with California State University, Fresno, and, The Agricultural Banking Institute of the Americas, a joint venture with Universidad del Pacifico, in Peru.

Daniel Allen is the CEO of Farmscape, an urban farming venture based in Los Angeles that has setup more than 350 gardens at homes, schools and restaurants and maintains 125 on a weekly basis. Dan is a Master Gardener and a member of the LA Food Policy Council’s Working Group on Urban Agriculture. He is also a periodic contributor to The Huffington Post and Seedstock.

Register now to receive the Seed Saver Discount rate at: http://growriverside.eventbrite.com

LA Food Policy Council Founder to Address Urban Ag Conference in Riverside, CA on March 19 – 20

January 3, 2014 |

Paula DanielsPaula Daniels, the founder of the Los Angeles Food Policy Council, a collective impact initiative that is advancing innovative policy initiatives and programs designed to increase the production and availability of food that is healthy, affordable, and grown locally, sustainably, and fairly, will be participating in the upcoming Grow Riverside: Citrus and Beyond! conference at the Riverside Convention Center in Riverside, CA on March 19 – 20. Daniels will discuss how cities can create effective policies to support robust local food systems.

An expert in food and water policy, she was Senior Advisor to Mayor Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, and has taught at UC Berkeley and UCLA. As a Los Angeles Public Works Commissioner, Paula led the development of a suite of green infrastructure policies, best practices and tools. An attorney actively engaged in California environmental policy issues for over 20 years, Paula was also commissioner with the California Coastal Commission, and a gubernatorial appointee on the governing board of the California Bay-Delta Authority.

She has served on a number of boards of environmental and Asian American non-profit organizations and bar associations, and is the recipient of a number of recognitions and awards, including: Heal the Bay’s Superhealer Award (1991); the Environmental Leadership Award of the California League of Conservation Voters (2005); the Water Quality Leadership award from the State of California Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (2007); and the Stanton Fellowship of the Durfee Foundation (2012-2013). She was named by the LA Weekly as one of the top ten people making Los Angeles a better place, in their People 2012 issue.

Register today and receive the Early Bird Ticket discount!

Grow Riverside: Citrus and Beyond! Conference Coming to Riverside Convention Center

October 27, 2013 |

Grow Riverside: Citrus and Beyond! is a two-day, outcomes-based conference to examine and develop solutions that will enable cities, Riverside in this particular case, to reconnect to their agricultural roots and galvanize citizens, growers, advocates, government officials and other major stakeholders around the economic opportunities that can result from employing sustainable agriculture.

Event Date: March 19 – 20

Location: Riverside Convention Center

Objectives:

  • Define the opportunity for local food production and agriculture in The City of Riverside
  • Explore solutions to increase local food in The City of Riverside in a sustainable and economically viable manner
  • Develop practical next steps to enable Riverside to leverage its rich agricultural assets

Conference Focus Areas:

The conference will explore the following topic areas through keynote presentations and panels:

  • Building a Local Agriculture Future
  • Developing Economically Viable Small-scale Farming Solutions
  • Health and Community Benefits of Local Food
  • Funding the Future of Farming in Riverside
  • Citrus and Beyond: Riverside’s Agriculture future
  • Riverside Grown: The Local Food Landscape
  • Urban Farming in Riverside
  • Forming a Local Food Alliance

Register here: http://growriverside.eventbrite.com