The 2019 Food Summit, hosted by Palouse-Clearwater Food Coalition, will take place Friday, January 25, 2019 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the Latah County Fairgrounds and Events Center (1021 Harold St.) in Moscow, Idaho.
The Palouse-Clearwater Food Summit is an annual event, attracting over 100 area food and farming educators, community members, businesses and food advocates. Food Summit 2019: Resilience and Regeneration will celebrate stories that weave together our heritage and our future of food in the Palouse-Clearwater region. Nationally renowned keynote Merna Ann Hecht, poet, essayist and editor of Our Table of Memories: Food & Poetry of Spirit, Homeland and Tradition, will open the summit, demonstrating the power of poetry and storytelling to inspire change.
Following the keynote will be a series of rapid-fire presentations featuring agriculture and food in the Palouse-Clearwater region. These Ignite! presentations include: legacy fruit trees of the Palouse; local honey production; creating a farm-to-table food culture; growing heritage grains; increasing healthy food access; and tribal food sovereignty. PNW Farmers Co-op Specialty Foods will share their story of forming a cooperative that supports local farmers that grow lentils, peas and garbanzos. During our afternoon sessions, we will engage participants in the power of storytelling to build relationships, develop new collaborations and inspire change.
Friday, January 25 is a no-school day for Moscow School District. There will be an onsite Children’s Activity Room designed for children K-8. One highlight of the children’s activities will use art and poetry to convey the youth’s own food stories.
The event will also include two sensory tastings of local honey and three varieties of hummus made with local pulses and a pasta extrusion demonstration. Lunch, made from local, seasonal ingredients, will include pulses donated by the PNW Farmers Co-op, and will incorporate noodles from the USDA Western Wheat Quality Lab located on the Washington State University campus. Gluten-free and allergy-friendly food options will be available.
The Food Summit will conclude with a children’s poetry presentation, a raffle, and an award ceremony to recognize an Outstanding Local Food Leader for the Palouse-Clearwater region. Community members are encouraged to nominate an Outstanding Local Food Leader when they register for the Summit.
Registration is on a sliding scale and includes a catered lunch. Students and youth may register at a reduced rate. Children under 10 attend for free. A limited number of need-based scholarships are available. Please contact pcfoodcoalition@gmail.com to request a scholarship form or visit www.pcfoodcoaltion.org to download a form. The event will also host an onsite food drive for our local food banks and Palouse Prairie Charter School students will host a hygiene products drive benefiting migrant farm workers in Idaho and Washington. Please bring non-perishable food items and travel size hygiene products to donate.
Pre-registration is required by January 20. Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. and the program will start at 9:00 a.m. To register for the event, visit https://foodsummit2019.eventbrite.com. Registration is $15 for students, $25 general admission. Scholarships are available! Space is limited.
Preceding the Food Summit, there will be a free reading by Merna Ann Hecht on Thursday, January 24, 2019, at 7:00 pm at Book People of Moscow (521 South Main Street), Moscow, Idaho.
Food Summit 2019 is hosted by the Palouse-Clearwater Food Coalition, University of Idaho Extension, Moscow Food Co-op, Community Action Center, WSU Center for Civic Engagement, Rural Roots, and AmeriCorps. Special thanks to our monetary and in-kind sponsors: Idaho Commission on the Arts, Pacific Northwest Farmers’ Co-op Specialty Foods, SCORE, the AVISTA Corporation, Palouse Knowledge Corridor, Sodexo, Equal Exchange, University of Idaho Sustainability Center, Latah County Fair and Events Center, Maialina Pizzeria Napoletana , Tri-State Outfitters, Moscow Chamber of Commerce, Monarch Motel, Book People of Moscow and the National Commission on the Arts.
