Submitted by the San Juan County WSU Extension office.

An online presentation and a community discussion on measuring, and making change in our local food system will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 19 via Zoom. The event is moderated by Learner Limbach, General Manager of the Orcas Food Co-op, and hosted by the San Juan County Fair and WSU San Juan County Extension.

Join local food system changemakers online for an evening of updates from the field! Did you know that we have an increase in new, younger farmers in the county? Curious what crop has the biggest market share? How much farmland is leased? What current challenges are farmers facing? Participants will hear an overview of the current state of agriculture in San Juan County with results from the recent Agricultural Viability Study and explore some of the ways local agriculture and food-access programs intersect in our county to ensure that ALL people are able to access fresh, local, nutritious foods for their families. We’ll also hear more about the current Community Food Assessment. Building on years of work by agricultural stakeholders in the county, a Food System Team was formed in Spring of 2020 to assess and address needs related to how food is produced, processed, distributed, consumed, and disposed of in the county. Join us to learn how you can get involved, as include Faith Van De Putte, San Juan County Agricultural Resources Committee Coordinator; Caitlin Leck, Food System Team Coordinator; ​​Kristen Rezabek, MS, RD, CD, CDE Health and Nutrition Coordinator with San Juan County Health and Community Services andSteph Coffey, Director of the San Juan Islands Agricultural Guild.

Advance registration is required for this meeting: http:\wsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJApd-6qrDMiHNzRUs156BZ6FWPamoHF7AK5. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.