Local Food Leader Workshop & Certification

Local Food Leader is an innovative program that builds core knowledge about local food system sectors, civic engagement, relevant policy, equity, and evaluation. Participants will also grow their skills for supporting food systems through facilitation, building trust, and leadership.

Who Should Attend?

Local Food Leader is intended for beginning local food practitioners, although it is open to anyone who is interested in food systems development and collaboration. These include but are not limited to: local food coordinators, food policy councils, public health workers, charitable organizations, health care professionals, master gardeners and other Extension professionals.

Objectives

• Increased understanding of global, local, and community food systems
• Increased capacity for individuals to facilitate conversation and working groups around food systems development
• Improved skills for conversations in equity as it relates to food systems
• Ability to develop and create work plans and scopes of work
• Increased participation and networking amongst local cohorts
• Improved ability to create successful teams
• Improved evaluation techniques for programs, projects, and systems

Structure of the Training

This training is divided into two parts. The first part is an in-person, full day workshop. The second optional part is an online course that goes more in-depth with expert video presentations, readings, reflections, assignments and quizzes.

The workshop starts with an introduction to common language in food system work, centering equity as a foundational concept, then delving into topics that coincide with the online modules:

• Community Food Systems: understanding global and local food systems, areas of work, people who work in the food system and relevant policy
• Methods of Engagement and Leadership: coalition development, inclusion, methods for capacity building, collective impact and strategic doing
• Creating Teams and Tools for Success: logic models, plans of work, project budgeting including funding opportunities, professional development plans and assessments
• Evaluation: feasibility studies, project evaluation and research question development

Upon completion of both in-person and online content, participants receive their Local Food Leader Certification. Those who become certified have access to many resources, worksheets and templates to support their work in the future. Workshop and online modules are separate costs.