After the Harvest Conference - Nov. 4-5, 2026

Explore the important role rural grocery stores play in community food access, local economies, and regional food-system infrastructure. Additional details will be announced soon.

Jenny Doty, Rural Grocery Initiative

Food Is Medicine is transforming how healthcare and community organizations address diet-related chronic disease by increasing access to nutritious food. This session will provide an overview of Arkansas’s growing Food Is Medicine landscape, followed by a discussion with program leaders about research, implementation, lessons learned, and experiences sourcing Arkansas-grown foods.

Together, participants will explore how stronger partnerships between agriculture and healthcare can improve community health while creating new opportunities for local farmers.

Dr. Michael Thomsen, UAMS; Sam Stadter, Baptist Health Community Outreach; Austin Sublett, Arkansas Foodbank

Selling to restaurants, retailers, institutions, distributors, and other wholesale buyers requires more than having a good product. In this panel, buyers will explain what they look for in local vendors, what they need to purchase consistently, and the practical realities they face when sourcing local food. A producer will share what it takes to meet those expectations while managing production, costs, labor, packaging, transportation, and other operational demands.

The discussion will address topics like product quality and availability, volume and consistency, pricing, packaging, ordering, delivery, invoicing, payment, communication, and relationship-building. Participants will gain a clearer understanding of what successful local purchasing relationships require from both buyers and producers.

Moderator and Panelists: TBA

Food insecurity remains a pressing challenge across Arkansas, but hunger-relief organizations are developing new approaches to meet the need. Speakers will share current information about hunger in Arkansas and discuss partnerships that connect food banks, local farmers, and other food-system organizations.

Participants will leave with a clearer picture of food insecurity in the state and practical examples of how local agriculture can contribute to hunger-relief efforts.

Sylvia Blain, Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance; Austin Sublett, Arkansas Foodbank; additional speakers TBA

Take a shared look at Arkansas’s food system and the people, organizations, resources, and infrastructure that shape it. This session will introduce the Food Atlas developed by the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance as a tool for visualizing food-system assets and needs while helping participants identify the partners needed to build a more connected and resilient food ecosystem.

Sylvia Blain, Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance

Learn what Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure grant award recipients are developing across Arkansas and receive updates on Arkansas Food Connect. Speakers will also discuss opportunities for producers, buyers, food hubs, and community partners to participate in the Discovery Network and related coordination efforts.

Dr. Amanda Philyaw Perez, UADA; Sarah Bakker, UADA

Designed for farmers market managers, vendors, and people interested in starting or strengthening a market, this bootcamp will combine guidance on Arkansas farmers market requirements with practical strategies for building and sustaining a successful market.

Participants will explore the Arkansas Farmers Market Guidelines, the Market Set Go farmers market food safety app, market management and vendor best practices, and ways to fund a market through grants, community partnerships, sponsorships, and other sources of support. A panel of managers and vendors representing markets at different stages of development will share lessons from their experiences, challenges they have encountered, and strategies that have helped their markets grow.

Jeff Jackson, ADH; Dr. Kristen Gibson, University of Arkansas; Jaymie Pedigo, West Little Rock Farmers Market; Paragould Farmers Market Representative; additional panelists TBA

Arkansas’s Food Freedom law creates new opportunities for food entrepreneurs, but understanding how the guidance applies to a particular product or operation can be challenging.

Participants will receive a copy of the Arkansas Food Freedom guidance and walk through it with experts from the Arkansas Department of Health and the University of Arkansas. The session will address the science behind the requirements, common misconceptions, labeling and packaging considerations, and situations in which additional licensing, testing, or process review may be necessary.

Jeff Jackson, ADH; Dr. Sungil Ferreira, University of Arkansas; Dr. Amanda Philyaw Perez, UADA

This bootcamp will help food businesses understand what is involved in moving from small-scale production into a commercial kitchen or manufacturing environment. Topics will include commercial kitchen requirements, scaling production, foundational food-safety practices, and food safety in wholesale packing sheds and manufacturing facilities.

Dr. Jennifer Acuff, University of Arkansas; Dr. Sungil Ferreira, University of Arkansas; Dr. Bill Porter, University of Arkansas; Dr. Craig Bacon, University of Arkansas

Hear updates on Arkansas initiatives involving school and early-childhood purchasing, nutrition programs, producer connections, and other statewide efforts. The session will explore what these initiatives mean for local producers and food-system partners, including realistic opportunities to participate, build connections, and strengthen local markets.

Representatives from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, Arkansas Department of Health

This interactive session will bring farmers, producers, Food Is Medicine implementers, healthcare organizations, researchers, and community partners together to identify challenges associated with sourcing local food for healthcare and nutrition programs.

Participants will explore practical approaches to local procurement, partnership development, and creating sustainable farm-to-clinic market opportunities.

Dr. Michael Thomsen, UAMS; Sam Stadter, Baptist Health Community Outreach; Austin Sublett, Arkansas Foodbank

Building a resilient local food system requires more than producers and buyers. Through an interactive mapping activity, participants will identify the organizations and individuals that support local food in their communities, including schools, healthcare providers, food-access organizations, food hubs, funders, Extension, and technical-assistance providers.

Participants will identify partnership gaps and opportunities to build a more coordinated local food network.

Dr. Hunter Goodman

Many of the challenges facing Arkansas’s local food system are shared across sectors. In this facilitated workshop, participants will identify barriers involving storage, transportation, aggregation, processing, purchasing, regulations, technology, labor, and infrastructure.

The group will then look for common priorities and potential opportunities for collaboration.

Dr. Hunter Goodman

Learn practical ways to use social media to communicate the story behind a farm, food business, market, or organization. This session will explore content planning, audience engagement, visual storytelling, platform selection, and strategies for promoting products and building lasting customer relationships.

Lizzy Herrera, additional panelists TBA

Aggregation does not look the same in every community. Some organizations coordinate online ordering and shared pickup locations, while others purchase, store, distribute, or otherwise coordinate products across the supply chain.

Panelists representing different Arkansas models will discuss the realities of working with producers and buyers, coordinating logistics, maintaining quality, setting expectations, building trust, and selecting an approach that fits a community or business.

Nena Hammer, Spring Creek Food Hub; additional panelists and moderator TBA

Hear directly from Arkansas producers and food businesses operating different types of postharvest systems. Small-group discussions will explore cold storage, wash-and-pack areas, transportation, temperature management, equipment selection, workflow design, food safety, and infrastructure planning.

Participants will leave with practical ideas that can be adapted to new, expanding, or existing operations.

Sarah Bakker, UADA; Nena Hammer, Spring Creek Food Hub; other panelists TBA

As an operation grows, keeping track of products, customers, orders, and deliveries becomes increasingly complex. This session will examine practical approaches to managing product availability, inventory, orders, invoices, deliveries, sales and harvest records, customer communication, and buyer follow-up.

Participants will hear how different organizations manage these responsibilities and how software and other tools can reduce administrative burden.

Nena Hammer, Spring Creek Food Hub; Stefanie Jaeger, Local Food Marketplace; additional speakers TBA

Receive an introduction to commonly used food-preservation methods and the resources available to help producers, entrepreneurs, and community members preserve food safely and successfully.

Christie Wagley, UADA; Terrie James, UADA

Follow fresh produce through the supply chain and examine how food-safety risks and responsibilities change as products move from harvest through washing, packing, storage, transportation, and sale. Participants will learn practical strategies for reducing contamination risks and maintaining produce quality.

Dr. Amanda Philyaw Perez

Learn about the regulatory and food-safety considerations that apply to meat, poultry, eggs, dairy products, and other animal products. This session will help producers and food businesses better understand which requirements may apply as products move from the farm to direct, retail, or wholesale markets.

Dr. Dan Quadros; additional speakers TBA

Drawing on his research, Dr. Matt Bertucci will explain how composting practices affect safety, nutrient retention, and the quality of finished compost. Participants will learn how to manage compost materials and conditions safely, reduce potential biological risks, minimize nutrient loss, and produce compost that can be used effectively in agricultural operations.

Dr. Matt Bertucci

Effective packaging and presentation can influence product quality, regulatory compliance, customer expectations, and market access. This session will cover packaging choices, unit size, durability, shelf life, pricing displays, basic label requirements, product claims, and expectations that may differ across direct, retail, and wholesale markets.

Dr. Renee Threlfall