Ensuring that communities have access to fresh, affordable, healthy and culturally appropriate food requires economically sound businesses, strong community partnerships, and initiatives in all sectors of the food system. The resources here can help businesses, farmers, consumers, local leaders, government agencies and others create and strengthen food system businesses and opportunities in their communities.
Grow / Produce / Harvest
MU Extension provides a variety of resources and programs designed to help farmers strengthen and diversify their farming operations; encourage schools and communities to build learning gardens; train individuals and families on best practices for growing food in home gardens; share resources for foraging and hunting wild foods; and increase food safety practices for food production and harvesting.
Related MU Extension programs and topics:
Deliver / Process
Adding value to farm products is a critical component to growing our local and state economy and strengthening our food and farm businesses. Here you can find resources for value-added processing, food processing safety, food aggregation and food hubs, and food entrepreneurship resources.
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Market / Distribute
Finding the right marketing strategy for food and farm products is critical to successful business strategies. These resources can help you use social media to advertise your business, build partnerships for farm to institution markets, and learn how to start and operate a farmers’ market, plus much more.
Related MU Extension programs and topics:
- ExCEED – Community Economic and Entrepreneurial Development
- Missouri Farm to School
- Stock Healthy, Shop Healthy
Display / Purchase
MU Extension offers programs and resources for retailers to learn how to safely handle and display fresh produce and to market locally produced products, plus tips for shoppers at farmers’ markets to make safe food purchases.
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Prepare / Consume
In this section you can find tools, programs and information to safely prepare fresh, healthy meals for your family, store and preserve your food purchases, and cook with in-season produce.
Related MU Extension programs and topics:
Surplus / Waste
Food waste is the single largest type of waste thrown away in the U.S. Use these tools from partners and agencies to conduct school food waste audits, reduce the amount of food you throw away at home, learn how to compost food waste, and learn how to challenge your neighborhood to reduce food waste in your community!