Local Food Business & Share Grounds Webinars
There is a lot to consider to run a successful small food business. These webinars will provide helpful advice for local food business owners in Arkansas and provide guidance for our Share Grounds clients. You will find additional information immediately above each webinar, and be sure to visit our YouTube playlist for many more resources on local foods by clicking the button below.
If you are interested in becoming a client at our Share Grounds kitchen, email sharegrounds@uada.edu.
Local Food Business Webinars
Whitney Horton, Strategic Partnerships Manager with the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center (ASBTDC), shares valuable information for those looking to develop and establish a food business here in Arkansas. In this webinar she reviews important considerations, such as who your customers and business partners are, what economic markets exist for your product, and expense and cost considerations. She also shares resources that the ASBTDC offers to food business entrepreneurs in the state.
Please visit the Arkansas Local Foods and ASBTDC websites for more information.
Angela Gardner, a past Program Associate with the University of Arkansas System Cooperative Extension Service, discusses trends occurring around “value added” food products in Arkansas. Value added foods include packaged, refrigerated, fresh-cut, and frozen items that typically require processing in a permitted commercial kitchen. In this webinar, she highlights consumer buying and consumption shifts, product marketing and labeling considerations, and how to test your food product concept in a budget-conscious manner.
Please visit the Arkansas Local Foods and Share Grounds websites for more information.
Dr. Renee Threlfall, Research Scientist at the Food Science Department with the University of Arkansas System, explains what steps food entrepreneurs in Arkansas should take to get their food business off to a successful start. She will cover available food production facilities and equipment in the state, packaging and labeling considerations, and technical assistance opportunities. Examples of food products that have been produced at the Arkansas Food Innovation Center in Fayetteville are shared.
Please visit the Arkansas Local Foods and Arkansas Food Innovation Center websites for more information.
On July 29, 2021, the Arkansas Food Freedom Act replaced the Cottage Food Law. This presentation by Angela Gardner, a past Program Associate with the University of Arkansas System Cooperative Extension Service, provides an overview of the new law and describes how to make and sell homemade food products in Arkansas.
Food entrepreneurs and home-based food businesses can visit the Arkansas Food Freedom Act website to learn more.
Have you ever thought about what it takes to start your own food business? Some of the work that needs to be done includes recipe development, ingredient and nutritional considerations, equipment and costs, regulatory and permitting requirements, marketing and labeling, and much more. In this short webinar, John Swenson, Arkansas Food Innovation Center (AFIC) Manager, walks you through these necessary steps to process food at AFIC and in Arkansas.
Please visit the Arkansas Local Foods and Arkansas Food Innovation Center websites for more information.
Dr. Renee Threlfall, Research Scientist at the Food Science Department with the University of Arkansas System, reviews many topics related to processing food in Arkansas including food systems, Cottage Food Law, commercial food regulations, food product creation, and successful food business practices. She also shares the available commercial kitchens around the state including the Arkansas Food Innovation Center and the Share Grounds Certified Kitchens and Distribution Centers.
Please visit the Share Grounds and Arkansas Food Innovation Center websites for more information.
In order to reduce contamination of food and the potential health threat of foodborne illness it is necessary to understand the risk factors that may affect safe food processing. One of these factors is contamination by microorganisms, such as bacteria. In this video, the Arkansas Food Innovation Center (AFIC) at the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville gives a basic overview of how some microorganisms can contaminate food during processing and ways to control and eliminate these pathogens from our food.
Please visit the Arkansas Local Foods and Arkansas Food Innovation Center websites for more information.
Safe food handling and proper personal hygiene are key to running a successful farm and food business. In this video, the Arkansas Food Innovation Center (AFIC) at the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville share how to keep your operations safe through information on how and at what point food can become contaminated, on what Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP’s) are, and on proven best practices for food manufacturing.
Please visit the Arkansas Local Foods and Arkansas Food Innovation Center websites for more information.
Are you a small scale commercial food business, shared-use kitchen manager or food protection regulator? This webinar shares information on Good Manufacturing Practices, COVID-19 preparedness and preventative controls that you should consider to reduce contamination and disease spread within your food manufacturing facility. Lead by Cornell University Assistant Professor in Food Science, Dr. Abby Snyder.
Please visit the Arkansas Local Foods website for more information.
The Farm to School movement is growing here in Arkansas. In this presentation, Sarah Lane, previous Farm to School and Early Childhood Education Program Coordinator for the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, gives a brief overview of the Farm to School program and how farmers, producers, and makers in the state can begin the process of selling to schools. She reviews the bidding and procurement process, the various purchasing levels, tips and best practices for making your sales pitch and how to connect with school staff, & resources and contact information for taking next steps and keeping in touch.
Please visit the Arkansas Local Foods and Arkansas Department of Agriculture websites for more information.
Please visit the Extension Horticulture team's UAEX Fruit and Vegetable YouTube channel to view videos on producing value-added food products in Arkansas. Topics covered include:
- Basics of value-added food production by Dr. Renee Threlfall, Research Scientist at the Food Science Department with the University of Arkansas System
- Producing value-added food from Farmers Market surplus by Morgan Gramlich, Master's graduate from the Horticulture Department with the University of Arkansas System
Share Grounds Webinars
The Share Grounds Certified Kitchens & Distribution Centers are an innovative approach to reduce food production barriers in rural communities by utilizing existing facilities and infrastructure at county fairgrounds located in Arkansas. In this presentation, Dr. Amanda Philyaw Perez, Food Systems & Food Safety Specialist with the University of Arkansas System Cooperative Extension Service, discusses how the Share Grounds came to be, the value they bring to the state’s food system, the services offered at each site, and how you may become involved as a client. This presentation is part of a series on the Share Grounds and food business development in Arkansas.
Please visit the Share Grounds website or email sharegrounds@uada.edu for more information.
Julia Fryer, a past Program Associate with the University of Arkansas System Cooperative Extension Service, distinguishes the different types of sales markets –including direct, retail, and online –that food businesses and farms may access to sell their food products and produce. In this webinar, she shares specific examples for each market category including unique options as well as their respective pros and cons.
Please visit the Arkansas Local Foods and Share Grounds websites for more information.
In this video, David Hill—food systems and food safety program associate with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture—walks through the general steps of creating a test batch for a value-added food product in the Cleveland County Share Grounds Kitchen. This video was created as a resource for the Veggie-to-Value Food Entrepreneur Bootcamp program which took place in the summer of 2023. We are excited to offer this resource through USDA AMS Specialty Crop Block Grant 2021-SCBGP21SCBPAR1100-00 and thank the Arkansas Department of Agriculture for their support.