May 11, 2022
Are you starting a local food system and unsure where to begin? Or are you working on one that's not making traction? Maybe you’re looking for new, and sustainable, ways for rural growth? The key is a local food system model based on creating new businesses and expanding established businesses. I can help you make that happen.
Here are the three basics components of a food system:·
Production - growing plant or animals for human consumption·
Processing - taking the mature plant or animal and preparing it for human consumption·
Distribution - getting the processed plant or animal to humans for consumption
I began researching local food systems 12 years ago and I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t. Along the way, I created a food system model for which I won a National Innovation Award from the Hunger Free Communities Network based in Washington, D.C.
The pandemic exposed the vulnerability of our global food system evidenced by empty shelves at the grocery stores. Now there is heightened interest in establishing local food systems. I believe local food systems are key to rural prosperity. I began Shop Kansas Farms (SKF) because the global food system and supply chain broke. My wife told me the grocery store meat counter was empty, so I created SKF to “connect people to the wonderful farm and ranch families of Kansas so they could purchase the food they raise.”
When people ask me what SKF does best, I reply, "We connect the dots; we are a digital hub for a state-wide food system." Now, I want to use my experience to assist you and your community to create a local and regional food system.
I have decades of work in international and domestic food security issues, I see the opportunities to create new businesses and expand established business in your community, and I can successfully work with a wide range of personalities to unite people in a shared vision. I also know how to move people from talk into action.
When people ask me what I do best, I reply: I'm a boots-on-the-ground guy that helps people move from thinking to doing. I compare my approach in consultancy work to Michelangelo, the artist, who was once asked what he saw as he gazed upon a dirt-covered, marble slab. He said he saw an angel trapped inside and it was his privilege to use his tools and skills to release the angel within.
Please allow me to use my tools and skills to release the hidden angels in your community and connect the dots to create a local food system filled with new businesses and the expansion of established businesses.
Email me to set an appointment to begin a discussion: rick@shopkansasfarms.com
Let's work together to prosper your community by creating a local and regional food system. - Rick McNary