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I was fortunate to be invited to speak at Basin Food Summit in October 2019.  What an energizing event it was.  The #BasinFoodSummit focused on promoting adaptable and innovative change in the way people grow food with the underlying theme of regeneration and creating sustainable food practices that will serve the region well in the coming years.

On the first day of the three-day Summit I presented on How to Pitch to a Retailer for food and beverage entrepreneurs. The presentation covered the main points of what retailers want to see from a new food entrepreneur and what they can do to improve their chances of success. Later that afternoon I was honoured to be part of a panel discussion: Packaging and the Waste in the Food Industry, What Can we do? With Dr. Love-Ese Chile, Tim Dueck and Jay Siegmueller, to offer insight on packaging and the role the food industry plays as one of the largest contributors to plastic packaging.  It was a big topic to tackle with a very engaged audience.

Engagement is a word that I would apply to the event as a whole.  It is what keeps us many of us doing what we do day after day. The region is rich with farmers and food and beverage entrepreneurs growing and processing the bounty found in the area and the Expo area was full of makers, bakers, and creators showcasing their products. It is always heartening to see the creativity and passion food and beverage entrepreneurs have.  The food industry is a tough place to be in these days, the entrepreneurial passion of food companies feeds the soul of what we do at Grounded Strategies.

One of our main goals is to support new food and beverage entrepreneurs looking to grow their businesses profitably and/or get their product listed at grocery retail stores.  We believe that when our local food and beverage entrepreneurs are successful, we are supporting the development of a sustainable future.  If our local suppliers aren’t running successful businesses now, where will our food come from in 20 years?

The Basin Food Summit was three packed days of workshops and presentations for farmers and food entrepreneurs to come together and learn more about how sustainably fits into their businesses.  It was a well-planned, well attended and well-executed event that reflected the heart of the people of the region and the vision of the host organization, the Columbian Basin Trust.

Even a power outage, just a few hours before the final gala dinner for 150 people could not disrupt the positive energy at the event.  The community came together, under the guidance of the fearless event coordinators Shauna Fidler and Damon Chouinard and an amazing family-style meal was served.

It was an opportunity to not just receive valuable information about industry trends and sustainable food and regeneration practices, but also to see and feel how a true community comes together for the betterment of them all.

I am looking forward to next year’s Basin Food Summit already.