America loses up to 40% of its food as it travels from farm to fork to landfill and entrepreneurs and innovators are tackling this problem from all angles. Come for lunch, discussion and a startup showcase highlighting three key themes of food waste: reduce, recover and reharvest.
This discussion, facilitated by JoAnne Berkenkamp, Senior Advocate for NRDC will dive into how solving the problem of global food waste starts with local communities and involves integrated solutions throughout the entire supply chain. Startups and organizations participating include Reinvia, Sofi Taste Kineto, the Cleantech Open’s recently launched Food and Ag vertical, as well as the Agriculture Utilization Research Institute (AURI).
Come hungry, as lunch will be made by local chefs, creating something delicious utilizing products normally thought of as food waste inspired by Dan Barber’s WastED. Intrigued? We know this lunch and conversation will spark possibilities, introduce you to new startups as well as change your perspective on 'waste' today.
The Food and Ag track is led by Grow North, a resource and connection hub for food and agriculture entrepreneurs and the ecosystem. Grow North would like to thank the volunteers and organizations who helped make the entire track possible.
People today are looking for innovative food products that are organic, local, sustainable and made with authenticity. Yet bringing this to life can be a real struggle for food entrepreneurs as they build their supply chain as well as identify retail partners that will take a chance on them.
A first of its kind Food Accelerator program launched in the Twin Cities, Maker to Market was created to address these challenges head on. This innovative program did not just offer personalized food business consult, from container shape to culinary support, but also elevated the commercialization process by pairing selected startups with local, small and disadvantaged farmers, subsidized their shared commercial kitchen production time, and guaranteed six months on shelf at Lakewinds Food Co-op's three Twin Cities area stores.
Meet and hear from the leaders behind the Maker to Market Food Accelerator Program as well as the food startups that participated. This event will include a discussion on how the partnership came together, insights and lessons learned from their first cohort as well as a demo and product showcase from the food startups that participated. Program partners will also release details on the 2018 cohort including application release date and some new program offerings!
As attitudes towards food and food production have changed dramatically over the last several years, the world has seen an explosion of innovators and entrepreneurs starting new food and agriculture businesses. Corporations have taken notice and developed internal teams and departments focused on investing in and partnering with startups at ever earlier stages. What does a partnership like this actually look like? How do the two companies work together? What does a large corporation look for in a startup and vice versa?
Hear both sides of the story at this unique panel bringing together leaders from corporate venture groups and the startups they invested in. Speakers include leadership from General Mills’ 301inc and Rhythm Superfoods, Land O’Lakes, Techstars and LocalCrate, and Schwans and trū Shrimp
This panel discussion will kick off the Food and Agriculture Track's 'Crash the Food and Ag Networks' networking Happy Hour. The event program will start promptly at 3:45pm.
The Food and Ag track is led by Grow North, a resource and connection hub for food and agriculture entrepreneurs and the ecosystem. Grow North would like to thank the volunteers and organizations who helped make the entire track possible.