Center for Great Plains Studies cooks up local food panel Nov. 12

            In 2000, the U.S. Department of Agriculture counted 2,836 farmers markets conducting business in the United States. Thirteen years later, that number is at 8,144 and is still increasing.

            The local food movement -- where people are encouraged to "know your farmer" and eat at "farm-to-table" restaurants, and big-box grocery stores carry items from local producers -- is at home in the Great Plains.

            A Paul A. Olson Seminar in Great Plains Studies on Nov. 12 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will explore the movement's status in the region and where it could go in coming years -- a large-scale view on a close-to-home topic.

            A panel of experts in the local food movement, including community leaders, restaurant owners and farmers, will address the top beginning at 3:30 p.m. at the Great Plains Art Museum, 1155 Q St.

            The panel will include William Powers, executive director of the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society; Billene Nemec of Buy Fresh Buy Local; Ruth Chantry of Common Good Farm; Renee Cornett of Prairie Plate restaurant; and Bob Bernt of Clear Creek Organic Farm.

            Several local farmers will be showcasing food items after the panel until 5:30 p.m. in the lobby of the museum. Farms include Common Good Farm, Clear Creek Organic Farm, Darby Springs Farm and Branched Oak Farm. The Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society is sponsoring the local farmers.

            "Local food is all about building community. Local foods are vital to the long-term viability and sustainability of our culture," Powers said. "Attending this panel will bring farmers and eaters alike to the table and into the conversation."

            Olson Seminars are presented by the University of Nebraska's Center for Great Plains Studies and are free and open to the public. Audio from the Nov. 12 panel will be uploaded to the center's website, http://www.unl.edu/plains, on Nov. 13.

Writer: Katie Nieland, Center for Great Plains Studies