Georgia Organics Conference 2012

"Plow Forward" - Georgia Organics 2012 Theme

Yesterday (2/25), I drove down to the 2012 Georgia Organics Conference in Columbus, Georgia. It was a bright, sunny day and the location was perfect--right on the Chattahoochee River in the Trade and Convention Center. This was the first year they have partnered with the Alabama Organics group, but it was profitable for both because the river is vital to both areas, and meat and produce cross the lines in this area.

Eating Lunch-only a small portion of the dining hall!

It's amazing how many kinds of people you meet at an ORGANICS conference, right? Old, young, new farmers, old farmers, chefs, school teachers, policy makers, homemakers. Food knows no boundaries! I met the good people from Moonshine Meats, whose farm is right outside of Athens. They supply the meat to Farm Burger in Decatur, and Farm 255 in downtown Athens. They were very interested in our Food Matters event and are planning on "being there" on Tuesday. I heard a very interesting talk by Kennesaw State University, which has one of the best dining hall facilities in the NATION. They have two farms and are volunteer staffed by students. I'll be explaining their philosophy on eating in more detail at a later time, but their practices and ideas for amazing. The company that helps them is called Sodexo, and I'll be checking them out as well.

One of the most interesting people I talked to was a college-aged volunteer at Georgia Organics. When I told her I was from SPX, she told me was a product of Catholic formation from parish to grades 1-12 in the Macon area. She said, "My Catholic upbringing is one of the main reasons I'm involved in the food arena. I can't think of a more social justice issue than food. It touches everything." Definitely food for thought...

And speaking of food, here's my "fast food" for the drive down to Columbus: Panera's organic steel cut oats with cinnamon, pecans, and fresh strawberries!

Organic steel cut oats from Panera!