The Eat Local Expo -- as the name implies -- is a gathering of people devoted to local food. More importantly, it's a marketplace where consumers can meet local farmers and start the beginnings of a new food relationship. The first of two expos, which are sponsored by the Kansas City Food Circle (KCFC), is tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Shawnee Civic Center.
I called KCFC Coordinating Committee Member Dave Lawrence, who was kind enough to talk while he unloaded copies of KCFC's 2009 Directory of Local Organic and Free-Range Growers. He said the Eat Local Expo isn't a typical farmer's market but more a "outreach and network opportunity."
Yes, there will be plenty of early-season and year-round local organic food available, such as greens, honey, meat and preserves, but the main reason for the Eat Local Expo is so local people can start a personal connection with local growers.
For some, that means buying shares in a farmer's harvest through a program like Community Supported Agriculture.
Lawrence said he doesn't know the number of farmers with shares left to sell, but Kansas City's Community Supported Agriculture's Web site keeps an up-to-date list of local providers. Other farms with product but not shares to sell will be at the Expo, including Crossroads darling Bad Seed, the nationally recognized Kansas City Community Farm and the Weston-based Green Dirt Farm, as well as nearly 40 other local growers.
In a later e-mail, Lawrence also emphasized the carbon
footprint aspect. "These growers optimize
their farm operations to reduce the use of fossil fuels in a number of ways. Some actually go so far as to use draft horses to do all
the heavy work around their farm."
For more information on the Expo, visit the KC Food Circle's Bulletin Board.
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Our 11th Annual Exhibition of Farmers
- Kansas City Food Circle's EAT LOCAL! Expo 2009 starts Saturday at 9am...
Snow or no... the EXPO is a GO for
Saturday 9am-2pm, 3/28/2009
possibly extending to 3pm if weather allows.
For DAY-OF-EVENT at-site updates on
Shawnee, KS weather conditions and
road info at the Civic Centre,
call 913-620-8427 or 816-714-4376
SEE WEB SITE FOR MORE EVENT DETAILS
EXPO #2 is 4/4/2009 at the
Roger T Sermon Community Center
Truman & Noland Rd
Independence, MO
Sorry to hear about that experience. You said you had a cousin who did cow-pooling though right? Was that a better experience?
I hope they like snow.
Few years ago I joined a CSA but their assortment was geared more toward a goat than a human. 60% lettuce-like plants,20% plain ol' grass and flowers (edible? who decides?) and 20% actual produce like tomatoes,potatoes,etc. I didn't care for it and even let them have my deposit when I quit.
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