Event Recap – Southwest Regional Food Business Center Virtual All-Partner Summit
On February 3rd, partners of the USDA’s Southwest Regional Food Business Center gathered together for the Center’s first Virtual Summit. With over 70 participants from across California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, the Summit provided a forum for partners to join together, foster new connections, and build upon existing relationships in the Southwest Center community. Intermixed with networking opportunities, guest speakers presented on topics ranging from Institutional Procurement/Farm to Hospital, Bridge Lending and Farm Financing, Invigorating the Regional Network, and Best Practices in Center Communications.
Connecting with Center Partners & Learning Together
The Summit kicked off with an interactive wordcloud activity in which Partners described their work with one word. Words such as “Resilient, Impact, and Inspiring” exemplified the commitment to supporting local farmers and food systems, and helped set the stage for a Summit focused on empowering and supporting Southwest Center partners.
The first speaker of the Summit was regional food system leader Chef Santana Diaz, who gave an invigorating keynote speech focused on actionable means of making a positive difference in our food system. Chef Diaz emphasized his change-making work in procuring sustainable, local, and nutrient-dense foods in the UC Davis Hospital System. Chef Diaz described how he built upon a California Specialty Crop Block Grant from California Department of Food and Agriculture to understand how large institutions such as hospitals can play an integral role in strengthening the local food system. Chef Diaz also discussed the role collaborative partnerships with organizations, such as UC Davis Aquaculture and Roots of Change, have played in bringing great tasting, healthy, and local foods to the UC Davis Hospital System. Chef Diaz closed out his keynote speech by stating the biggest opportunity for increasing institutional procurement is to quantify the larger community benefits that stem from procurement.
Partners were then able to connect with each other in networking breakout rooms that were organized by topic: Urban Agriculture; Coordination; Indigenous Businesses; Farm to Institution; Center Evaluation; Value Added Products; Regenerative Meat; Business Development for Technical Assistance; Agriculture Technologies. Bringing partners together to increase coordination and communication is one of the key activities Valley Vision supports for the Center.
Brett Malone, Chief Business Strategies Officer for California Farmlink, discussed bridge lending and farm finance, a topic Center partners expressed strong interest in learning about through the Summit. Brett began the topic of farm financing by discussing why alternative sources of financing are necessary, especially for small and mid-sized farms and food businesses. Brett provided examples of limited business or credit history, cost of farmland and fishing vessels, and lack of traditional collateral as contributing gaps that Farmlink fulfills with their bridge lending services. Farmlink’s bridge lending loans include operating and term loans, land and housing loans, disaster relief loans, and conservation loans. These bridge lending options create financial feasibility for small and mid-sized farm and food businesses that often struggle with large upfront investments.
Ending the Summit Stronger, Together
Tracy Celio, Program Manager for the Center, used the interactive nature of this Summit to close out with an activity that instructed partners to create a phrase or photo that would be used if the Southwest Regional Business Center created a billboard in Times Square. Participants’ phrases such as “Home is Where the Heart is, Food is Where the Farm is,” “In winter’s storm and summer’s heat, a farmer works so we can eat,” and “Southwest Region Procures 100% of Produce and Meat From Local Sources.” The inspirational billboard activity was supplemented by a closing mentimeter activity that asked for one word to define the Center Community.
This was the first All Partner gathering in 2025. Throughout this next year, the Valley Vision team looks forward to finding new ways to connect and coordinate Southwest Regional Food Business Center partners.
Join the Southwest Regional Food Business Center for our next webinar in our quarterly webinar series on April 16th from 3-4PM. Register here: http://bit.ly/swRFBCwebinar
To learn more about the Center, visit: www.swfoodbiz.org and subscribe to the newsletter: https://bit.ly/SWRFBC-Newsletter.
Contact us at info@swfoodbiz.org if you’d like to get involved.
Visit the Center’s socials here.
USDA disclosures and guidance can be found at https://bit.ly/USDAdisclosures.
