SAN DIEGO–The Second annual Let’s Go Local! Produce Showcase feeds the growing appetite for locally grown and raised products among San Diego and Orange County school districts, hospitals, universities, preschools, and restaurants this Food Day.
The showcase puts a fresh spin on the traditional product showcase model to promote local agriculture sales. More than 40 institutional and restaurant buyers, 37 growers, and 8 distributors from San Diego and Orange Counties are registered to attend the showcase. Last year’s attendance included 22 school districts and 9 growers.
“A thriving local food movement is afoot in San Diego County, one that is helping make fresh fruits and vegetables more readily available and desirable, along with boosting our local economy,” said Fourth District County Supervisor Roberts, a longtime champion in San Diego County’s fight against childhood obesity. “The produce showcase is a powerful tool for assuring that institutions serving our children and most vulnerable populations provide the very best in fresh, local, nutritious foods.”
For growers, the showcase offers an opportunity to meet directly with prospective buyers and explore the burgeoning farm to table movement. San Diego County school districts alone purchase nearly $9 million in produce a year. Local sourcing can return twice as many dollars to the local economy as conventional purchasing practices. As the county with the largest number of small and organic farms in the U.S., San Diego County could experience a major economic boon through increased local sourcing.
For institutions and restaurants, the showcase presents an opportunity to easily connect with local produce growers and distributors. As reported in the State of Farm to School in San Diego County Report, more than 15 school districts source San Diego County and regionally grown products. A rapidly increasing number of school districts, hospitals, preschools, universities, and restaurants are also looking to join the movement, as local sourcing is an evidence-based practice for promoting healthy eating.
“A healthy, thriving, local food system is critical to addressing our current obesity epidemic and many other challenges we face today,” said JuliAnna Arnett, director of operations and food systems for the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative. “In San Diego County, we are fortunate to have such a vast array of local growers and health conscious school districts and healthcare systems that understand the value of serving fresh, local meals. The Let’s Go Local! Produce Showcase connects these stakeholders and builds partnerships to promote the health and wealth of our community.”
The showcase is hosted by the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative, a public-private partnership, facilitated by Community Health Improvement Partners, with the mission of reducing and preventing childhood obesity through policy, systems, and environmental change. The Initiative recognizes the importance of a local, sustainable food system in achieving its mission.
This year, the Initiative is partnering with Orange County Food Access, a coalition of hunger, health, and food systems stakeholders dedicated to creating access to healthy, local food options for Orange County’s most nutritionally vulnerable residents, to expand the event’s reach to Orange County institutional and restaurant buyers and growers.
