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April 1, 2015 | seedstock

GrowRIVERSIDE today announced that A.G. Kawamura, former Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (2003-2010) and Leah Di Bernardo, slow food visionary and award-winning Chef and founder of E.A.T Marketplace, a Cultivating Good partnership, have been added as keynotes to the upcoming “2nd Annual GrowRIVERSIDE: Future of Local Food” Conference. At the conference, which will take place on June 11 – 12 at The Riverside Convention Center (with Community Day on June 13), A.G. will give an address on Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) for Urban Farms, while Leah will discuss the importance of linking city and county local food efforts toward the end of strengthening community, economic and environment and creating a robust regional food system.

Register now to receive the “Seed Saver” ticket rate and learn about how to strengthen the local food system from A.G. Kawamura and Leah Di Bernardo: http://growriverside.eventbrite.com

A.G. Kawamura is a third generation fruit and vegetable grower and shipper from Orange County. He is co-chair of Solutions From the Land, a non-profit organization that collaborates with farmers, ranchers, foresters and stakeholders to implement climate smart land management practices and strategies. He currently serves on several boards and committees including: The Ag Advisory Committee for the AGree Initiative; the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources (BANR), a policy arm of the National Academy of Scienc- es’ Natural Resource Council; Ag Advisory Committee for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs; American Farmland Trust; The 25x’25 Alliance, a national alliance of renewable energy stakeholders; External Advisory Board for the Agricultural Sustainability Institute (ASI) at UC Davis. He is a former chair and current board member of Western Growers Association. As a progressive urban farmer, AG has a lifetime of experience working within the shrinking rural and urban boundaries of Southern California. Through his company, Orange County Produce, LLC, he is engaged in building an exciting, interactive 21st century 100 acre agricultural showcase at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, CA

Leah Di Bernardo is the founder and chef of E.A.T, a farm-to-table style eatery, specialty food marketplace, sustainable education/event space, and home delivery service for both local organic produce and meals, conveniently located in the heart of Old Town Temecula.

Recognizing that improving our food system and our health starts with showing people how to source and utilize sustainable, clean ingredients, Leah conceptualized a new kind of Eatery that is delicious, healthy and educational. While good food is not cheap, Leah believes that supporting local growers and food artisans will ultimately make sustainable food available to everyone.

Leah is a champion of food education and is a leader in her community of over 24 academic and edible school garden programs. She spearheaded the first middle school Slow Food chapter in our Nation, founded the events- ‘Field To The Fork’ ’100 Mile Dinner’ and the ever growing and popular- ‘Farm to Table Dinners’.

Click here to purchase your Seed Saver Special Ticket to Hear from these Local Food Visionaries!

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

Mark Winne – Co-founder of the Connecticut Food Policy Council
Robert Egger – Founder and President of L.A. Kitchen
Dwight Detter – Local Forager for Whole Foods Market
Viviana Franco – Executive Director of From Lot To Spot
Fortino Morales III – UC Riverside Community Garden Coordinator
Rodney K. Taylor – Director of Nutrition Services, for the Riverside Unified School District
Robert Tse – State Broadband Coordinator for USDA CA Rural Development
Erika Block – Local Orbit
Bob Knight – Founder of Inland Orange Conservancy and Old Grove Orange, Inc.
Rishi Kumar – Founder of The Growing Home
David Rosenstein – Founder of EVO Farm & Chair of the Aquaponics Association – Western Region
Pierre Sleiman – Founder of Go Green Agriculture
Krysia Zajonc – CEO and Co-founder of Local Food Lab
Jim Bergantz – Sales Engineer at Agra Tech, Inc.
Mateo Aguilar – Co-founder of Local Food Lab
Hop Hopkins – Co-founder of Panther Ridge Farm
… and more!
More information on the conference: http://growriverside.com

Click here to purchase your Seed Saver Special Ticket!