About 150 people interested in producing, processing and providing local food converged on Kansas Wesleyan on July 29 and 30 for the 2025 Kansas Local Food Summit.
KWU’s Community Resilience Hub (CRH) co-hosted the two-day event coordinated by K-State Research and Extension’s Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops.
Workshops covered such topics as local grocery stories, working with family farms, farming diverse crops and finding a market, providing food in food deserts, and building collaborative relationships. Emily Lysen, from Lawrence Farmers Market, dressed as a tomato to demonstrate how she interested children in eating vegetables.
Dr. Dawn Thilmany, from Colorado State University, delivered the keynote address, “Navigating Local and Regional Food Systems in Dynamic Times,” about economic development options for rural America.
Locally produced food is fresher, tastes better and is better environmentally, said Sabrina Rosario, CRH director. Despite being a major producer of beef and wheat, 90% of the food Kansans eat is brought in from out of state.
Story and photos by Jean Kozubowski
