Farm bureau hosted a “Local Food Summit” to inaugurate their new efforts focused on increasing production and sales of local food within the state.  More than 120 folks were invited to this day long event.  Cynthia Haskins, Business Development and Compliance Manager for IFB, invited  representatives of state agencies, non profits, and local food stakeholders to gather together to talk about how to share production, dissemination, and marketing of local foods. The goal for the event was for participants to figure out how to minimize duplication, minimize costs and determine how to get a lot done.

For a bit more on the event visit http://wjbc.com/food-initiatives-encourage-local-buying-and-selling/

Some of the notable comments include those of Lt Governor Shelia Simon who  reported in increased use of LINK cards and that  “a more sustainable food system has huge economic potential. Every dollar that is spent on local foods in Illinois has a total economic impact of $1.34, while every dollar spent on imported food returns only 20 cents to Illinois’ economy.” http://www.illinois.gov/PressReleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?SubjectID=14&RecNum=9544