Assessing Food System Infrastructure Needs to Increase Markets for Meat, Grains, and Food Hubs

Outcomes from Feb. 8, 2024 Open WWFSP Steering Committee Meeting Lunch & Learn

The WWFSP Steering Committee held a day-long open meeting on Feb. 8, 2024 to map existing and proposed ag infrastructure, and identify gaps and create solutions to fill those gaps. Many key organizations working on regional food systems development in Western Washington were represented. The primary focus was on building markets for local meat, grains, and food hubs. The results of this meeting have been compiled into a report. In this presentation, we will highlight the most important takeaways to inform ongoing efforts to build our regional food system.

Aba Kiser (she/they) has served as the facilitator of the WWFSP Steering Committee since 2023. Aba has spent over a decade developing sustainable agricultural initiatives across the Pacific Northwest and beyond, focusing on regional value chain development, culturally relevant frameworks, and groundbreaking events like the Cascadia Grains Conference and the International Quinoa Research Symposium. During the George Floyd uprising she founded Watershed Productions to blend her love for media production with her dedication to culturally relevant food and farming projects. Aba is a grateful resident on Chimakum/ S’Klallam land in the Olympic Peninsula where she tends a cover crop garden in between planning her next international adventure.

Mardi Solomon (she/her)has been a partner in Crossroads Consulting for over 25 years. She has provided administrative support for NABC’s Regional Food Systems Partnership grant projects since 2021, including the WWFSP Steering Committee and the Farm to Food Bank project. Her prior work on regional food systems development focused primarily on the northwest corner of the state as a coordinator of the Whatcom Farm to School initiative, and a founder of the Whatcom Food Network and Whatcom Food System Committee.