[rfn-l] Regional Food Network: update

[Adele Wessell]

Dear Colleagues and friends,

This is an email to update you on the Regional Food Network (RFN) and ask for your interest and feedback on a number of developments. Now that we have a growing network, with a forum to exchange information and make connections with each other and the journal is established, we felt timely to consider the focus of our activities. In the spirit of a network, interconnected through our mutual interest in food systems, we have the opportunity to focus on particular regions and to use various means; the email list, events and the journal to share insights and knowledge. The focus of Southern Cross University is now shifting to build the Northern Rivers node of the Network. It is our intention to continue to create opportunities for exchange and connection across the network, but focus our core work on the region. To that end we are moving towards a closer collaboration with Northern Rivers Food, to grow our activity and efforts close to home.

We hope that you will be able to use the opportunities and forums the RFN will continue to provide to also communicate your own activities in the regions where you live and work. This includes:


Communication
Any member can send an email to the email list to promote events and projects, seek advice, call for collaborations and so on relevant to the group. The email address is: <rfn-l at scu.edu.au<mailto:rfn-l at scu.edu.au>>. It would be great for people to use the list to promote their activities and communicate with the rest of the network, made up of academics as well as food practitioners. Adele continues to administer the list and membership subscriptions.

Events
We have had an annual conference since the Network began in 2011. This is fairly resource intensive and requires upfront funding and a team to organise. The initial plans for 2015 were abandoned too late to make alternative arrangements. Convenors of the Network (Ben Roche, Kristin den Exter, Erica Wilson and Adele Wessell), have been considering that other activities may be more worthwhile for the network — one day symposiums, un-conferences (where people meet to workshop specific issues of interest), public forums and workshops. With the membership expanded across the country and including many people who have to fund their own conference participation and take time out from their work, participation of the whole network has never been achievable. Moreover many of the people who do come have expertise that would be better communicated in a less formal arrangement. We therefore propose to decentralise and diversify our activities. Any members interested in holding an event can get in touch about support the RFN could provide — promoting the event through our various networks, advice, putting members in touch with each other and so on. As an example, Ben and Kristin and I will be working closely with Northern Rivers Food on Harvest for 2017 as a Regional Food Network collaboration. Similar activities and events may be possible in the other regions where you live and work.

Journal
The Network continues to publish Locale: The Pacific Journal of Regional Food Studies<http://localejournal.org/issues/> and issue 5 should be available soon. This includes peer reviewed articles as well as submissions from people in industry. We welcome your proposals. You can get in touch with the editors via email:
Mike Evans <michael.evans at ubc.ca<mailto:michael.evans at ubc.ca>>
Adele Wessell <adele.wessell at scu.edu.au<mailto:adele.wessell at scu.edu.au>>

We hope this email finds you well and look forward to hearing from you,
Adele, Ben, Kristin and Erica.


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