Sustainable Foods Symposium - hosted by CAFE, February 2012

Description of event: We are requesting funding for what will be CAFE's landmark first event: a Sustainable Foods Career Symposium, to be held on campus on February 10th, 2012. This event will bring students and professionals together, highlighting the many possibilities for those interested in a career in this arena. The day will consist of four panel discussions: "Private Businesses Along the Food Chain," "International Agricultural Development," "Supporting Local Farm Efforts," and "Food Law, Policy, and Government." Each panel will feature 3-4 speakers. Local coffee and lunch donated by Zingerman's Deli (for the first hundred to register) will also be provided.

Goals of proposed activity: The purpose is to familiarize undergrad and graduate students from many different programs to the range of careers available in the field of sustainable food and agriculture, as well as to heighten the field's presence on campus, and allow a diversity of students and professionals to meet and speak candidly about issues. This event will be a highly positive opportunity for students to interact and connect with professionals in a relatively new field - one recently growing in popularity and relevance. It will bring esteemed speakers (from the fields of business, policy, and beyond) to campus and show them the wealth of talent at Michigan, as well as the excellent conversations that are going on.

Feedback from CAFE post-event: On behalf of CAFE, I'd like to share some information with you on our Sustainable Foods Career Symposium. I wanted to take an opportunity to follow up with you regarding the Sustainable Foods Career Symposium that took place on February 10, 2012 here in the Dana building.  As one of the event's principal sponsors and as part of our agreement, we would like both thank you for your contribution and share a few details about the event. 

The Sustainable Foods Career Symposium, made possible with a generous donation from SNRE as well as funding from MSA and LSA student governments, took place on Friday, February 10th. We had an excellent turn-out of about 125 students (both undergrads and graduate students,) as well as faculty and community members. Our four panels (focusing around the private sector, local approaches, international development, and food policy) went smoothly.  The moderated discussions were lively, entertaining, and educational.  After listening to a relatively structured discussion of the panelists careers and thoughts,  Symposium participants had the opportunity to engage panelists at the end of each pannel durring a twenty minute open question and answer session.

Student feedback after the event was overwhelmingly positive.  Students appear to have made useful contacts, learned more about the world of sustainable food, and developed a deeper understanding of CAFE's organizational goals.  Additionally, participants raved about the delicious lunch which had been generously donated by Zingerman's Roadhouse.

After the success of this year's event, we plan to expand our efforts to host a stronger Symposium next year.  We have begun to discuss the lessons learned from this years event in an effort to adapt and enhance next year's approach.  One large take-away from this years event that we will adopt moving forward is the need to begin recruiting and confirming speakers early so that we can bring together representatives from a wider range of geographies and backgrounds. 

We are also currently surveying this year's attendees.  We'll use their feedback and suggestions to further mold next year's event. 

Many thanks again to SNRE for the generous funding! It wouldn't have been possible without you. Sincerely, Liz Dengate and the rest of CAFE