Thank You for Joining Us

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Rogue Valley Food Solutions Summit. Your presence, insights, and shared commitment made this year’s gathering a powerful moment of connection and momentum for our regional food system.

Over the course of two days, we connected, shared delicious locally grown food, took field trips to visit local businesses and learn new skills, and spent a full day together listening, learning, creating, discussing, and planning. The Rogue Valley is not the same—and we are grateful to everyone who helped make that true.

 

While the Summit has concluded, the work continues, and we look forward to gathering again next year.

Stay Engaged — The Work Continues

The Food Solutions Summit is one moment in an ongoing, collaborative effort to strengthen Southern Oregon’s food system. There are many ways to stay involved:

  • Join a Working Group: Stay connected to the conversations and action emerging from the Summit by participating in one of RVFSN’s working groups focused on food access, local food economy, soil and water, or food waste reduction.

  • Get Connected Through Open Impact: Create or update your profile on Open Impact to see how organizations and projects across the region are working together—and find opportunities to collaborate.

  • Support the Network: Become a member of Rogue Valley Food System Network and help sustain this shared work year-round.

Thank you for being part of this growing network and for helping move this work forward.

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About the past Food Solutions Summit:

The Rogue Valley Community Food Solutions Summit was first held on March 16, 2023 at the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center to launch the region’s updated Jackson and Josephine County Community Food Assessment—our first comprehensive reassessment since 2013. The 2023 Summit brought together farmers, ranchers, food access partners, health professionals, educators, advocates, and community members to share their knowledge, lived experience, and vision for the future of food and farming in the Rogue Valley. Their insights directly shaped the priorities, questions, and community-driven focus of the new assessment.

In January 2025, the Summit reconvened to unveil the completed Rogue Valley Community Food Assessment and the region’s first five-year Food Action Plan. Participants explored key findings, celebrated early successes, and helped identify pathways for collaboration across the four goal areas: ensuring access to healthy food, strengthening the local food and farm economy, protecting soil and water, and reducing food waste.

Now, as we move into the next phase of regional implementation, the Food Solutions Summit continues to serve as our shared table—where partners come together to build relationships, align efforts, refine strategies, and advance the collective work of transforming the Rogue Valley food system. Click here to see the notes from each session.

The Vision:

 

A thriving, equitable, and resilient food system in the Rogue Valley that supports:

Four Priority Goals

    1. Reduce Hunger and Ensure Access for All: Making healthy, fresh, affordable food available to all community members

    1. Invest in Our Local Food and Farm Economy: Supporting farmers, food producers, and businesses to strengthen our regional economy

    1. Protect and Restore Soil and Water Health: Protecting our soil and water resources through sustainable farming practices

    1. Reduce Food Waste: Creating efficient systems to minimize waste and maximize resource use

Why This Matters

Our assessment, involving over 2,000 community members, reveals both challenges and opportunities:

    • 50% increase in local producers since 2012

    • Growing interest in local food production and distribution

    • Need for improved infrastructure to support small farms

    • Critical importance of addressing food security and climate resilience

Get Involved

Your participation is vital to creating a stronger food system. Here’s how you can help:

    • Join working groups focused on our priority goals

    • Connect with local food system initiatives

    • Support local farmers and food producers

    • Share your expertise and ideas

Ready to Make a Difference?

Your participation is vital to creating a stronger food system. Here’s how you can help:

    • Follow us on social media:

Together, we can build a food system that nourishes our community, supports our farmers, and protects our environment for generations to come.

    • Ag Inputs (Soil, Water, Industry Resources)

    • Food Systems Infrastructure (Manufacturing, processing, storage and distribution)

    • Production (farming, ranching, fisherfolk)

    • Consumer Demand and Marketing (includes Agritourism)

    • Nutrition (Education and Access)

    • Food Access and Food Insecurity 

    • Emergency Food Resources and Resiliency

    • Advocacy, Outreach and Education 

    • Labor and Employment 

    • Food Waste Management

Previous Food Assessments for Jackson and Josephine Counties:

Jackson County Community Food Assessment, 2013

Read the assessment.

Author
Hannah Ancel, ACCESS

Editorial Team
Philip Yates, ACCESS
Wendy Siporen, Thrive

Advisors
Sharon Thornberry, Oregon Food Bank
Rogue Valley Food System Steering Committee

 

Josephine County Food Assessment, 2012

Looking at Food Security in Josephine County. Read the assessment.

Primary Authors and Researchers
Jillian Tucker, JoCo Food Bank, RARE
Sarah Jane Smith, JoCo Food Bank, AmeriCorps
Sam Engel, JoCo Food Bank

Contributing Authors, Researchers, and Editors
Susan Scheuffele, JoCo Food Bank
Spencer Masterson, Ten Rivers Food Web, RARE

Collaborators
Josephine County Food Bank
Sharon Thornberry, Oregon Food Bank
The Rogue Valley Food System Planning Process

Get updates about the Community Food Assessments!

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sponsor logos

 

Thanks to our sponsors: United Way of Jackson County, Jackson Care Connect, Oregon Department of Agriculture, Organically Grown Co, Oregon Food Bank, Oregon State University Extension Service, Medford Co-op, Rogue Creamery, AllCare Health, and Ashland Food Co-op.