2022 Annual Farmers & Friends Meeting Wrap-Up

Saturday, February 5, we hosted our 16th Annual Farmers & Friends Meeting. We were disappointed to not gather in person this year, but we had a stellar line-up of speakers and found a way to work pie into the day- thanks to The Upper Crust and Melissa Poelling!

The keynote presentation by Sean Sherman was jarring, enlightening, and yet hopeful. Attendee John Freeberg of Fairfield, Iowa said, “Sean’s talk was one of the best I’ve heard. Great to host him!”

Sean Sherman, Oglala Lakota, born in Pine Ridge, SD, is an advocate, cookbook author and chef who has cooked across the country and world focusing on the revitalization and awareness of indigenous foods systems in a modern culinary context. Visit The Sioux Chef to learn more about the work to make indigenous foods more accessible to as many communities as possible that Sherman and his team continue to pursue.

Want to engage with Native American Agricultural Groups? Start here:

• KC Indian Center
• The Sioux Chef
• North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS)
• Indigenous Seed Keepers Network, by the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance
• Native Seed SEARCH
• Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative
• Intertribal Agriculture Council

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We were also proud to include local panelists, who hosted insightful breakout sessions. They included:

• Linda Hezel, Prairie Birthday Farm
• Chhaya Kolavalli, Kauffman Foundation
• Dina Newman, UMKC Center for Neighborhoods
• Dan Krull, Biological Services & Regenerative Agriculture Design Consultant
• Thomas Ruggieri, Fair Share Farm
• Gail Fuller, Fuller Farms and Great Plains Regeneration
• Ed Smith, Kansas City Indian Center
• Mary Dollins, The Quite Contrary Garden with Kirsten Bosnak, Blue Morning Glory; Colleen McCoole Payne, Farmstrong Flowers; Molly McCleary, Maypop Flower Farm; Kayli Greer, Sol Flower
• Daniel Robinson, Cultivate KC & KC National Young Farmers

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 THANK YOU to our event sponsors for making the meeting possible.