MINNESOTA — The Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association (MFMA) Annual Conference is scheduled for Dec. 8-9, 2021. This year’s conference is a two-day, virtual event of learning, networking and celebrating local food stats, stories and data.
The MFMA Conference will feature keynote speaker David Manuel, Foods Coordinator at Red Lake Economic Development and Planning, on Wednesday morning at 9:00 a.m. With an objective of food sovereignty for the 5,000 tribal members of Red Lake Nation, David Manuel broke ground on a test garden for Red Lake’s organic food initiative in 2016. With his fellow tribal members suffering from diabetes and cancer at higher-than-normal-rates, Manuel’s passion for food goes beyond just his love of gardening. “One of my goals is to create a healthy food system for the Red Lake Nation people, locally produced, managed and grown themselves.” states Manuel. “Food sovereignty is my objective.”
MFMA will kick-off the 2021 Annual Conference with Manuel’s important food journey (think value-added products, farmers’ markets, co-op sales, and a bison herd), along with his struggles, successes, creative farming tactics, and his plans for the future.
The rest of the day will feature a variety of sessions including legislative information, market trends, networking opportunities, soil health for farmers, and financial aid information. Attendees are encouraged to join in Wednesday evening from 6:30-7:30 for some fun, Kahoot trivia, and door prizes.
Thursday includes sessions on sales tax, insurance, marketing, data, and more. See the full conference schedule for details.
Registration is now open. Conference fees:
- $20 for MFMA members (includes both vendors with a vendor membership and vendors at markets with a market membership)
- $55 for non-members (comes with a 1-year Friend of MFMA membership)
- $100 exhibitor fee
Event sponsors include Compeer Financial, Sustainable Farming Association, Minnesota Farmers Union, North Central SARE, and Renewing the Countryside.
Questions can be directed to MFMA Communications Director Kim Guenther at kguenther@mfma.org or 573-470-4445. For more information on the Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association and their mission to provide services, programs, and leadership which support and promote farmers’ markets across Minnesota, visit www.mfma.org.
— Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association
