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ThinkFOOD Conference
our 10th annual ThinkFood conference!
Making local farms work
November 4, 2023
Choose from in-person or Zoom sessions. Consult the workshop schedule for details.
Location: Fisher Science Center at Simon’s Rock.
The Center for Food Studies at Bard College at Simon’s Rock presents our 10th annual ThinkFOOD conference on Saturday, November 4. ThinkFOOD will give you new perspectives on food, farming, and resiliency. We’ll offer interactive sessions with practical takeaways and new ideas from experts in the Berkshires and beyond.
Ashley Randle, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) will give the keynote address.
The conference is free for all students. Tickets are $25 for access to all sessions, $15 for half day, or $10 for keynote only; lunch tickets are $10. Discount tickets available; please email for details.
email thinkfood@simons-rock.edu
Register to attend the Conference
Devan Arnold from Sassafras Landcare discusses designing a pollinator garden outside the Fisher Science Center at ThinkFOOD 2019
Speakers from Soul Fire Farm and Greenagers at lunch at the 2018 Conference
Program
Speaker Bios and Workshop Descriptions
Saturday, November 4
Registration: 9:00 a.m. – 2:00pm
Registration desk open at the Fisher Science Center
Panel 1: 9:45 – 10:45 am
Land access for Farmers
Clark Auditorium [in-person/Zoom]
Workshop A: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Tom Ingersoll, Ingersoll Land Care, tree pruning and orchard care demoDaniel Arts Center parking lot and orchard on Alford Road [in-person outdoors]
Panel 2A: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
State and Federal Initiatives for Local Farmers
Clark Auditorium [In-person/Zoom]
Panel 2B: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Local Meat Processing
Lunch: 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Conference Lunch provided by Simon’s Rock Dining Services
Workshop B: 1:00 pm
Clark auditorium [in-person]
Daniel Arts Center parking lot and orchard on Alford Road [in-person outdoors]
Panel 3: 2:00 – 3:15 pM
Farmers Making it work
Clark Auditorium [in-person/Zoom]
Keynote Speaker Tom Seeley of Cornell University at ThinkFOOD 2019
Panelists at ThinkFOOD 2020’s Virtual Conference
Session on fair land access at ThinkFOOD 2022
Keynote Address: 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
[In-person/Zoom] Clark Auditorium
Ashley Randle, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources
Massachusetts Agriculture: Building a Resilient Future
Online Registration is open
Register to attend the Conference
For more information, contact Maryann Tebben, Faculty and Director of the Center for Food Studies and the Center for Food and Resilience, at mtebben@simons-rock.edu.
“We want to think about how to support farmers in the Berkshires and beyond to create a functional local food system that feeds everyone fairly.”
— Professor Maryann Tebben,
Center for Food Studies at Simon’s Rock
Conference Sponsors
Thank you to our sponsors!
Funding provided by:
Berkshire Agricultural Ventures
Promotional partners:
Berkshire Grown
Great Barrington Agricultural Commission
Guido’s Fresh Marketplace
From the 2022 conference:
regenerative, October 2022
Session 1: Regenerative Practices
Melissa Ferretti, Herring Pond Wampanaog Tribe, Cape Cod, MA; Jaime Piñero, UMass Stockbridge School of Agriculture, Integrated Pest Management and Fruit Orchards:
Session 2: Empowering Young People and Building Community
Sarah Monteiro, Greenagers/April Hill, Sheffield, MA; Lauren Piotrowski, Program Manager, Roots Rising Pittsfield, MA
Session 3: Farms for All
Amanda Reynolds, Senior Community Engagement Coordinator, Food Bank Farm in Hadley, MA; Anita Adalja, Not Our Farm, Albuquerque, NM; Gaby Pereyra, Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust
Session 4: Farms as Community Sanctuaries
Ben Crockett, Berkshire Agricultural Ventures: Climate Change and the Berkshire Foodshed; DeeArah Wright, Co-Founder/Worker-Owner, Mumbet’s Freedom Farm, Sheffield, MA: Seeding BIPOC Sanctuary; D Rooney, Farmer/Co-Owner/General Manager, Rock Steady Farm, Millerton, NY: One Farmer’s Take on Being Regenerative with Oneself
Keynote Address: View Recording
By Karen Washington of Rise & Root Farm and Black Urban Growers
Additional Resources
Cheeses from local farms at the 2017 conference.
Student participant at ThinkFOOD 2019 workshop