February 1, 2025

20th Annual Farmers & Friends Meeting

Every winter, Cultivate KC convenes local and regional farmers and food activists to connect, converse and contribute ideas regarding issues affecting our city’s urban farming community. This, our 20th anniversary event, will focus on the theme of The Past, Present, and Future of Farming in Kansas City.

We are excited to welcome our keynote speakers , Tepfirah Rushdan and Patrice Brown.

 Tepfirah Rushdan embodies a commitment to equity, channeling her efforts towards community-driven solutions that foster both human well-being and environmental health. Her leadership spans diverse non-profit and grassroots initiatives, including pivotal roles in organizations such as Greening of Detroit, Keep Growing Detroit, Black to the Land Coalition, Detroit People’s Food Coop, and Detroit Black Farmer Land Fund. Beyond her direct involvement, Tepfirah extends her expertise as a board advisor to impactful projects like RAHAM Detroit, Green Boots Veteran Gardens, and Feed’em Freedom.

In 2023, Tepfirah was appointed as the inaugural Director of Urban Agriculture for Detroit, marking a significant step towards sustainable urban development. Presently, she continues to shape the city’s trajectory as the Sustainability Director, spearheading its Sustainability Agenda and Climate Strategy with a keen eye towards fostering resilience and progress.

Patrice Brown a lifelong Detroit resident. Graduate from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with a BA in Political Sciences. Worked in government for over 10 years prior to joining the non-profit sector at the historic Eastern Market in 2015. In 2019 she was elected by her peers to become chair of the Detroit Food Policy Council. Patrice completed the Detroit Equity and Action Lab Fellowship in 2019, served on the governor’s Food Security Council in 2020, and completed the Great Lakes Environmental Leadership Fellow in 2023.

In May of this year, Patrice transitioned to the City of Detroit as the Urban Ag Director in the Office of Sustainability. Currently working towards food policy advocacy and social justice for all urban farmers and residents in the City of Detroit. Patrice is excited about the future of food security and sovereignty in her hometown.

And don’t forget to join us at 8am for the famous pie potluck breakfast!

This event offers free childcare- sign up with your registration.

Event Schedule:

  • 8:00 – 9:00:  Coffee and Pie Potluck Breakfast!
  • 9:00 – 9:30:  Welcome &  Presentation of the John Kaiahua Mentorship Award
  • 9:40 – 10:40:  Breakout Session 1  
  • 10:50 – 11:50:  Breakout Session 2

  VIEW BREAKOUT SESSION DESCRIPTIONS HERE

  • 11:50 – 12:30:  Lunch – Pizza buffet, with poetry reading by Sharon Autry
  • 12:30 – 1:30:  KEYNOTE ADDRESS with Tepfirah Rushdan and Patrice Brown
  • 1:30 – 2:30:  Resource room, networking discussion tables, & seed give-away
  • 2:30 pm:  Head out into the world renewed and inspired!

FREE REGISTRATION HERE

 

We work hard to make AFFM a meaningful and information-packed event while striving to make the best use of our resources and time. To do so, we need an accurate estimate of attendees. If you register, please make a plan to attend. We promise it’ll be worth it.

Come for the pie, stay for the conversation and connection! We can’t wait to see you all!

We are grateful for the commitment and hard work of this year’s planning committee. Thank you for all you do for our local food system.

Thank you to our sponsors for making the event possible:

Location:

El Torreon Event Space, 3101 Gillham Plaza, Kansas City, MO 64109

Time:

8:00 am - 2:30 pm

Return to events