Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Increasingly, economic developers in rural communities are recognizing the value of local foods -- value aded agricuture -- in improving their economic prospects. Here's a remarkable statistic from market research in the Twin Cities of Minnesota: 95 percent of shoppers surveyed prefer to buy local foods. Read more.
Strengthening the connections between farmers and consumers in a regional economy increases the velocity of money circulating in an economy and reduces the leakage of income out of the economy.
Iowa and Minnesota are leading states in this movement. You can download a brochure on the steps you can take can do to promote local foods. Written for extension educators, the advice works for EDPros as well.
In Minnesota, U.S. Rep Collin Peterson has been promoting local foods in workshops.
Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site:
Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber:
Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.