Local Foods Local Places: Bridgeport, CT Workshop RSVP

Bridgeport, Connecticut is hosting a two-day community workshop on the topic of local food and its potential for strengthening our local economy, supporting healthier people and neighborhoods, and revitalizing our downtown. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), US Department of Transportation (DOT), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have selected Bridgeport for the Local Foods, Local Places technical assistance program, which will result in an action plan for strengthening our local food economy.

A team of these agency partners and their consultants will join local stakeholders to conduct a workshop in Bridgeport on September 7th and September 8th. Your participation and knowledge of the local area is needed to help make this event a success. The workshop will bring together many key stakeholders from throughout our region to develop an action plan primarily around, but not limited to, these goal areas:

Sustain and continuously improve the value proposition of farmers markets in the community
Raise awareness of the farmers markets among low-income residents, especially those enrolled in SNAP
Leverage best practices, joint programming, fundraising, policy, and marketing/outreach campaigns across Bridgeport Farmers Market Collaborative members and the wider community of food-related organizations
Determine metrics of success and methodology for food system impact evaluation

The workshop will include presentations on community livability and the roles that local foods play in supporting it, plus small group working sessions and discussions on the community’s vision and goals, and specific actions for reaching them. The workshop will lay out an action plan for moving forward.

Question Title

* RSVP - Please let us know which sessions you plan to attend.

Day 1 Community Meeting - September 7, 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm - "WHY"
B:HIVE Bridgeport; 285 Fairfield Ave. Bridgeport
An open community discussion to explore where we want to be and what values motivate. It will include introduction and overview presentations, followed by general discussion on strengths, opportunities, and challenges around community goals.

Day 2 Stakeholder Workshop - September 8, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm - "WHAT"
Burroughs Community Center; 2470 Fairfield Ave. Bridgeport
Working session to explore what needs to happen to realize your goals. There will be presentations on more specific case studies and exercises designed to brainstorm ideas for actions and strategies.

Day 2 Stakeholder Workshop - September 8, 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm - "HOW"
Burroughs Community Center; 2470 Fairfield Ave. Bridgeport
This final working session further details how your goals can be achieved. These small group exercises get into details such as targeted implementation next steps, including actions, responsible parties, timeline/priorities, resources needed, etc.

Comments, remarks, special needs?

Question Title

* Who you are

Name (First Last) *

Company / Affiliation

Email Address

Phone Number

The local Steering Committee thanks you for your interest, and looks forward to your participation.

Margot Gotterer: Chair, Bridgeport Food Policy Council
Cristina Sandolo: Executive Director, Green Village Initiative (GVI)
Raquel Rivera-Pablo: Founder & Chef, A Pinch of Salt
Landon Horan, Program Manager,:The Center for Food Equity & Economic Development at the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport
Jacob Robison: Planner - Office of Economic Development and Planning, City of Bridgeport