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Inspired by its work building technology infrastructure for local and regional food networks, Local Orbit works with food entrepreneurs of all kinds who are interested in relocalizing the food system.  Join us for a discussion about innovative ways to build regionalized distribution systems, particularly in ways that keep capital costs low and increase viability in the long run. 

This webinar is geared towards anyone interested in the local food system: food makers, growers, processors, incubators, retail outlets, and specifically those who are focused on aggregation and distribution.  AND be the first to gain access to Local Orbit's interactive toolkit filled with resources and information to support those building a healthy, localized food system. 

Included in the discussion:

• Innovative examples of local food distribution systems from around the country
• Common bottlenecks to anticipate and some creative solutions to navigate around them
• A process and framework that will help ANY food entrepreneur move forward in their business
• Early access to a free Local Orbit interactive toolkit!
• Q&A

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Presenters

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Local Orbit provides software and training services for the entrepreneurs who are building the New Food Economy.  They provide the tools for farmers, producer coops, food hubs, farmers markets and independent distributors to efficiently sell to local restaurants, grocers, and institutions.  Online marketplaces powered by Local Orbit are active across nine states and Canada. We help people build profitable businesses and healthier communities.

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The Measuring the Co-operative Difference Research Network is pleased to showcase tools developed in Atlantic Canada to measure the social, economic and environmental impacts of their co-ops on their members, employees, and local communities.

In this webinar, our guest speakers will share their experiences using these tools and discuss how the tools have influenced their respective co-operatives’ priorities and planning.

Siri Jackson-Wood, a board member of the Morell Consumers Co-op, a Co-op Atlantic grocery in rural PEI, will discuss her co-op’s experience using the Sustainability Scorecard

Eric Tusz King, an owner-member of EnerGreen Builders Co-op in Sackville, New Brunswick, will discuss his co-op’s experience using the Co-op Index for Worker Co-operatives

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Think about a neighborhood you just love. What is it that makes it feel so welcoming, so inspired, or so vibrant? The best neighborhoods make greatness seem effortless, but what you don’t see is that behind the scenes, a lot of hard work and dedication is going into sustaining a strong place.

What does it take for your neighborhood to achieve greatness, for residents to act neighborly and work together to achieve shared goals?

On the next CommunityMatters® conference call, Felisa Conner of the Office of Neighborhood Vitality in Garland, Texas will join us to talk about building and sustaining vital neighborhoods. We'll also hear from Councilman Scott LeMay of Garland, a graduate of the city's Neighborhood Management Academy and former President of the Camelot Neighborhood Association. Felisa and Councilman LeMay will share tools and strategies for neighborhood management - ways to foster collaboration and build capacity to develop and realize neighborhood vision and goals.

Register now

Blog Post: Don Your Cardigan, It’s Time for Us All to Be a Little More Like Mr. Rogers

Speakers

• Felisa Conner, Manager of Garland, Texas' Office of Neighborhood Vitality
• Scott LeMay, Councilman in Garland, Texas and Former President of the Camelot Neighborhood Association

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*No registration required

To watch online
 
The discussion will explore:

• Metcalf's repositioning of its strategic areas of focus;
• The role that policy, practice and collaboration play concurrently in building a new economy; and
• Learning alongside community partnerships.

Presenter Bio's

Sandy Houston - President and CEO
Sandy Houston is the President and CEO of the Metcalf Foundation.  Over the last ten years, Sandy has steered the development of Metcalf into a leading private foundation engaged in helping Canadians imagine and build a just, healthy and creative society.  Prior to joining Metcalf, Sandy worked as a litigator before becoming a founding partner in Stitt Feld Handy Houston, Canada’s first law firm to focus predominately on alternative dispute resolution. Read more.

Andre Vallillee - Environment Program Director
Andre joined Metcalf in 2014 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, where he worked as a program manager overseeing the province-wide environmental portfolio and serving as the Foundation's strategy lead for the environment sector. Andre has also held positions with Smart Growth BC, UVic's Centre for Co-operative and Community-Based Economy, and UBC's Centre for Human Settlements. He brings extensive experience in environmental philanthropy, environmental planning, and capacity building strategies to his new role at the Foundation. Andre received his Bachelors in Environmental Studies and Political Science from the University of Victoria and his Masters in Planning from the University of British Columbia.

Adriana Beemans - Inclusive Local Economies Program
Adriana Beemans joined the Metcalf Foundation in 2013, bringing extensive experience in community development, capacity building, and program innovation. Most recently she spent five years as the Director of Programs & Services at Working Women Community Centre, overseeing community engagement and settlement programming. As the Social Investment Fund Manager at Toronto Community Housing, she spent four years as a grant-maker working with community leaders in low-income communities. Before moving to Toronto, Adriana worked overseas with the Aga Khan Development Network in Pakistan and UN-Habitat in Afghanistan. She holds a graduate degree from the University of Toronto in Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts in International Development from Trent University.

[ register here ]

Guest Speaker:

[ more information ]

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St. Michel is one of Montreal’s oldest suburbs. Since 2004, Vivre St. Michel en Santé (for a Healthy St. Michel) has employed an innovative urban and social revitalization strategy that has rebranded a neighbourhood once known for its high crime rates and lack of services into one that is known for its active and unified citizens and coordinated action. Particularly innovative are the processes used build “community” among a transient, diverse and largely immigrant population. Vivre St. Michel en Santé takes an integrated approach involving citizens, community organizations, donors and government offices. Collectively, their efforts have helped residents, with its mix of new immigrants, experience a better quality of life in the areas of art, culture, housing, security, health, sports, leisure, transportation and access to services.

Join us on Thursday, March 6, 2014, 1-2 pm ET (noon - 1 pm CT) when Brianne Peters and Jean Panet-Raymond present this Citizen-Led Sustainable Change webinar on an innovative urban and social revitalization strategy.

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Jean Panet-Raymond talks about some of the factors that have contributed to the success of his organization.

Other resources

• Humility and Audacity: The story of Vivre Saint Michel en
  Santé, Montreal, Québec
• Reducing poverty in Montreal, QC - Vibrant Communities Canada (2012-09-28)

Event Contact

Deb Markley
Center for Rural Entrepreneurship
919-932-7762
deb@e2mail.org
http://ruralwealth.org/page/webinars-1