USDA NEWS RELEASE
A “Food Summit” focusing efforts on developing a sustainable food system that supports the health, nutrition, and economics of western Nevada, while also supporting local producers, will be held Oct. 23, 2012. The Summit is free of charge.
The conference will address a broad range of inter-related topics impacting the food systems in this region of Nevada: Lyon, Storey, Mineral, Churchill, Carson and Washoe counties. Keynote speakers include USDA Rural Development Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, who has led USDA’s “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative, and David Berliner, an educational psychologist who is nationally known for his lectures on the impact of childhood poverty and poor nutrition on academic achievement.
The conference, sponsored by the Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey Counties, runs from 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and will include lunch, donation welcomed. It will be held at the Silver Stage High School in Silver Springs, Nevada, 32 miles east of Carson City.
Panelists include USDA Rural Development, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, Western Nevada College staff from the Specialty Crop Institute and the annual Small Farm Conference, regional farmers, food bank, food co-op, and social services directors, nurses, behavioral health experts, doctors, high school agriculture interns, public policy and economic development experts, among dozens of others. To attend the conference, contact Christy McGill at (775) 351-8242 or 246-7550.
