Crookston hosts local food conference

by Dan Gunderson, Minnesota Public Radio

A conference on connecting farmers and consumers opens today in Crookston, Minn.

Moorhead, Minn. — The Home Grown Economy conference, which opens today in Crookston, brings various groups together to talk about ways to better market locally grown food.

Linda Kingery, Executive Director of the Northwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership, said with food prices rising, there's growing interest among consumers in where their food comes from.

"The Kellogg Foundation has set out a goal that grocery stores would handle about ten percent of their sales as local food within the decade," said Kingery. "Ten percent might seem like a pretty small amount, but when those dollars stay in the local economy and go back to farmers in the region, it has a pretty significant effect on the economic vitality of the community."

The conference is sponsored by Minnesota DFL Congressman Collin Peterson.

It begins with a local wine and food tasting event this evening.

The conference continues Monday with sessions on developing markets for locally grown food.