South Dakota Local Foods Coalition July 2021 Update
A group of several statewide organizations has officially come together to relaunch the South Dakota Local Foods Coalition. The name of the group was voted on at the last meeting, on Tuesday, July 20. Partnering organizations including: SDSU Extension, SDSPA, Dakota Rural Action, S.D. Dept of Ag and Natural Resources, Travel S.D., Sichangu Community Development Corporation, Sisseton Wahpeton College, Value Added Agriculture Center, SDSU Local Foods Program, and the S.D. Animal Industry Board, as well as individual producers.
The group made important decisions at this meeting, including deciding on a Mission statement “Working to promote resilient, equitable local food systems, and food sovereignty for all.”
The vision statement that the group drafted is: “We envision sustainable food economies in South Dakota that are diverse, thriving, and equitable. We work to strengthen local food systems by connecting stakeholders and amplifying their voices so that South Dakota producers, eaters, and environments thrive.”
With these overarching goals in mind, the group formed four subcommittees, small groups who met to delegate work on specific tasks in the areas of:
- Food Security and Sovereignty, and decentralization of food economy
- Connecting Producers to state and federal programming such as: Senior Nutrition, SNAP, Food Rx
- Supporting Farm to School initiatives
- Promoting SoDak Grown – fund, expand use the statewide local foods branding
All SDSPA members and interested parties are invited to join the conversation. The next meeting will be on Sept. 21 at 2pm CDT, 1pm MDT.