Buy Fresh Buy Local Launches Winter Series of
Farmer Meetings in St. Croix River Valley

CONTACT: Dana Jackson, LSP, 651-653-0618

1/29/08
WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn.—Farmers interested in supplying food to local consumers are invited to attend one in a series of informational meetings sponsored by the St. Croix River Valley Buy Fresh Buy Local Chapter. Meetings will be held on five Saturday mornings in February and March in five different St. Croix Valley locations so that farmers can choose the meeting time and place most convenient to them. There is no charge for these meetings. Farmers planning to attend should register with Dana Jackson at 651-653-0618 or danaj@landstewardshipproject.org.

Buy Fresh Buy Local (BFBL) aims to increase the production and consumption of local food in order to diversify the local economic base and preserve the beauty and ecological value of the St. Croix River Valley. In an effort to help foster connections between local producers and consumers, BFBL is meeting with farmers to inventory products they have available for local markets and learn about their marketing needs and goals.

The meetings will also provide opportunities for farmers to sign up to become BFBL partners.  Farmer partners of BFBL benefit from BFBL advertising, events and media coverage, and the use of the distinctive Buy Fresh Buy Local label that brands food produced in the St. Croix River Valley. As retailers begin to seek more fresh, local products, BFBL farmer partners will be easily identifiable as potential suppliers. Farmer partners will help shape the direction taken by the BFBL campaign to promote local foods in the upcoming months.

The St. Croix River Valley Buy Fresh Buy Local Chapter is hosted by the Land Stewardship Project, a 25-year-old nonprofit organization operating in the Upper Midwest. It is one of 50 Buy Fresh Buy Local Chapters in the Food Routes national network working to strengthen regional markets for locally grown foods. The St. Croix River Valley Chapter activities are guided by a local steering committee made up of farmers, staff from collaborating organizations and other market partners.

The meeting locations and dates are:

• Feb. 2, 9:30 a.m., River Falls, Wis., Wind River Room, University Center, UW (Park in lot F)

• Feb. 9, 9:30 a.m., Stillwater, Minn., River Market Community Co-op Loft, 218 Main Street N., 2nd floor, Stillwater (across the street from the Co-op)

• Feb. 16, 9:30 a.m., Pine City, Minn., City Hall, 300 Fifth Street

• March 1, 9:30 a.m., Hastings, Minn., Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center, 12805 St. Croix Trail

• March 15, 9:30 a.m., St. Croix Falls, Wis., City Hall, 710 Hwy 35 South

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