The challenge of moving food products throughout the Basin is ongoing and increasing.  This facilitated discussion will give an opportunity producers to share their needs and discover opportunities for improving logistics throughout the region. Facilitated by Gerri Brightwell, this session will consist of a presentation by Rebecca Richards called – Where Our Local Food Goes! Mapping the Distribution of Local Food Products in the Columbia Basin.

“The local agriculture and food production sector has long struggled to deliver products to local consumers in a cost-effective manner. Barriers to distribution include geography, transportation costs and a low-density consumer markets which prevents individual food producers from taking advantage of economies of scale in distribution. Currently, it is also challenging to organize in order to achieve economies of scale, which may make transportation more cost effective, because we do not know where patterns of distribution already exist. The project presented in this talk aims to solve this problem. We need detailed data on distribution from individual food producers collected and presented in a visual format so that patterns can be identified. Once we know where density in transportation is already occurring, it will allow for action to formalize and grow coordination efforts.”