Healthy Farms Conference Youth Program!

Friday – February 6, 2015

8:30 a.m.  Develop a Vision Board for Your Farm – Liz Sarno, Organic Farmer

Liz will help the kids to develop their own vision for their farm and family for 2015. 

10:00 a.m. How to Market Your Products at Farmers Market– Rebecca Bloom, Bloomsorganic

Rebecca will go over how to present your products at farmers markets.  The things to do to sell your products and definite things not to do.   She will discuss how to price products, licenses and how to make your market stand attractive.  

Bloomsorganic is a family business located just outside Crescent, Iowa, farmed by Rebecca Bloom, with help from her husband, Brent, and sons, Alex and Eli.  They are USDA Certified Organic with Iowa Department of Agriculture. The farm produces  berry fruits, culinary herbs, and a large variety of vegetables, including tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, greens, and root crops.   They like to grow heritage and heirloom varieties whenever possible. Bloomsorganic also grows flowers and food garden plants.  They market their products through various local markets, restaurants, and community supported agriculture.

12:00 p.m. Lunch

1:00 p.m. Tai Chi break 

2:00 p.m. How to make and find recipes for your products – Create your own cookbook- JoAnne Garvey

JoAnne will help you to find recipes for your products and then create recipe handouts and a cookbook. 

Some of JoAnne earliest childhood memories are of her grandmother’s kitchen where she learned the art of cooking rice, beans, tortillas from scratch, and other traditional Mexican dishes. It is easy to assume that her grandmother introduced her to cooking, but the truth is she claims to be born with the desire to cook; her grandmother simply added to an already intrinsic love.  JoAnne has over thirty years in the Hospitality Industry, and experience as a business owner, manager, and college chef instructor.

BA in Organizational Management from St. Joseph College, Whiting, IN,

AAS degree in Hotel Restaurant Management from Ivy Tech Community College, Indianapolis, IN. Current Food Handler Certification for Serv Safe, and Proctor for this national exam, Certified Executive Chef Certification from the American Culinary Federation.

Jo Anne Garvey CEC, Chef Instructor, Institute for the Culinary Arts, Metropolitan Community College, Omaha, Ne

Saturday – February 7, 2015

8:30 a.m.  Yoga break

9:30 a.m. No More Empty Pots - Nancy Williams, CIO, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands

Nancy Williams will talk about youth programs and volunteer opportunities for kids.

Nancy began the practice of agriculture at an early age; first as a 4-H member in elementary school then as an FFA member in high school. Her family raised most of the produce they consumed; at one time maintaining as many as six gardens to feed themselves and share with neighbors. In addition to achieving success with FFA competition teams, Nancy earned scholarships to study Horticulture. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree at Louisiana State University then studied for a master of science in Weed Science with a minor in Plant Pathology at Cornell University. Nancy has diverse experiences in agriculture, from corporations, serving as an agronomist for local farmers and entrepreneurs to grassroots organizing and management for nonprofit community organizations. For the past 10 years, she has served as an information technology director for a nonprofit organization; where she has led award winning programs, increased technology integration and supported improved organizational outcomes.

Nancy Williams, No More Empty Pots

10:30 a.m. Making Pizza – JoAnne Garvey.  JoAnne will show how versatile pizza dough is for adding your fresh local products. 

12:00 p.m. Lunch

1:00 p.m. Bee Keeping – Fun with Bees – Lynn Danzer,

Bee-keeper from Council Bluffs, Iowa and Vice President of Education and Mentoring for the Omaha Bee Club: http://www.omahabeeclub.org/home .  Lynn has kept bees for 45years; ever since his Dad bought him, his first bees at a farm sale when he was 14 years old. 

Lynn will cover the types of honey bees, bee-keeping equipment, pollination, what effect pollination has on the plants and what plants attract bees. Lynn, teaches classes on bee-keeping at the South Omaha Library on 28th & Q St: http://www.omahabeeclub.org/beekeeping-classes. 

  

3:00 p.m. Finalize Your Vision Board

The Healthy Farms Conference Youth Program is a part of the Healthy Farms Healthy Kids Nebraska program of the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society.

We have youth rates available, for information please email William @ healthyfarms@gmail.com