Project Overview
Consumer demand for locally and regionally grown food is an expanding movement that has even the largest companies seeking ways to procure local and regional sources of food. While the overall goal of the Commercial Ready program is to increase sales opportunities for locally grown foods, the information provided has also been utilized by producers to make the determination that commercial markets do not have a fit for their operations. The ability to evaluate risks and opportunity have been equally important.
Commercial Ready training was conducted across the state during the duration of this project. Just over 400 producers participated. Additional trainings focusing on food safety aspects of Commercial Ready were also conducted. Progress was monitored at conferences and workshops conducted during January and February 2011.
Commercial Ready will continue to play a role in producer training in Illinois and other MarketMaker states. The IL MarketMaker team will collaborate with several statewide agencies and organizations to incorporate Commercial Ready training into a series of “Meet the Buyer Forums”, SARE “Scaling Up” and as part of a training program to aid the progress of the IL Foods Farms and Jobs Act.
Number of Participants: 400
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS
There are no promotional materials available for this project.
EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS
There are no educational materials available for this project.
REPORTS & EVALUATIONS
There are no reports or evaluations available for this project.