A series of talks will highlight the local and area foods movement with Ken Meter, author of Building Community Food Webs, and Jeff Hake of Funks Grove Heritage Fruits and Grains.
All events are free and open to the public.
The evening of Monday, March 21, will feature Meter presenting “Local Foods in Central Illinois: Next Steps,” and Hake presenting “Weaving a Community Food Web in Mt. Pulaski, Illinois.” The talks will begin at 7 p.m. at Illinois Wesleyan University’s Center for Natural Sciences, and also be available via Zoom.
The evening of Tuesday, March 22, will feature Meter presenting “Building Community Food Webs,” at Heartland Community College in the Community Commons Building, and is also available via Zoom. The talk will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 22.
The events are sponsored by Illinois Wesleyan University’s Environmental Studies Department, Illinois State University’s Interdisciplinary Food Studies Initiative, and Heartland Community College’s Agriculture Department.
Ken Meter
Meter, the author of Building Community Food Webs, is one of the most experienced food system analysts in the U.S. He integrates market analysis, business development, systems thinking, and social concerns. Meter has a master’s degree in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School and a master’s degree from Boston University. He has taught at the Harvard Kennedy School and the University of Minnesota.
Jeff Hake
Hake is a partner at Funks Grove Heritage Fruits and Grains. He serves as board vice president of Central Illinois FarmFED Co-op, and as president of the Central Illinois Young Farmers Coalition. Hake has a master’s degree in agriculture, food, and the environment from the Friedman School at Tufts University.
The events are part of the NexSTEM program, a consortium comprised of Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan University, and Heartland Community College, funded through a National Science Foundation grant. Learn more about Illinois State’s NexSTEM scholars.
