FamilyFarmed.org will have a Financing Farm To Fork Conference on March 11, 2010. http://www.familyfarmedexpo.com/farmtofork.html This is definitely welcome news.

I think it really says something about the growth of local food that this event is taking place in Chicago—a serious food town. In 2004, Sandy Streed of the Illinois Food Safety Center and I organized an Illinois Farm to Fork Event at Joliet Junior College. It was fabulously educational and fun, but there sure weren’t any investment types there.Although, Marketmaker in the form of Dar Knipe was there and she did a wonderful job. It’s a huge credit to the local food movement and to the individual entrepreneurs and to familyfarmed that the money folks are showing up now. As Martha Stewart would say, “It’s a good thing.” Indeed. And when you put a market and money together with a marketmaker, it’s an even better thing…