Wyoming Food Coalition has record numbers

Second annual conference a success

By Mark DeLap
Posted 12/17/20

The Wyoming Food Coalition Conference 2020

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Wyoming Food Coalition has record numbers

Second annual conference a success

Posted

By Mark DeLap

mdelap@pcrecordtimes.com

WYOMING – The Wyoming Food Coalition hosted its second annual conference Dec. 10-11 via a Zoom format and had record numbers of participants and contributors for the two day event.

The conference which has been in the works for the past few months has been organized by the Wyoming Food Coalition which has gained great ground since last year at this time, now becoming a recognized nonprofit organization and also soon to have their 501 ©3.

The Wyoming Food Coalition is a grassroots effort to unite, enable and empower the small and medium range AG producers in Wyoming is in its infancy stages but has picked up a lot of steam with the inclusion of two AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers.

It is called the ‘Wyoming Food Coalition: WY Food Matters,’ and has a vision to help establish “sustainable local food economies in Wyoming that are diverse, thriving an equitable.”

Clayton Jons who works for the University of Wyoming College of Agriculture office in Wheatland said that working groups were formed within the corporation that include: Vibrant Farms and Thriving Local Economies, Strong Communities, Healthy People, Sustainable Ecosystems, Infrastructure-Distribution-Promotion, Fairness & Justice and Policy Strategic Communications & Outreach.

The coalition mission is to strengthen local food systems by connecting stakeholders and simplifying their voices so that Wyoming producers, eaters and environments thrive.

“I felt we had a very successful conference with some great discussion and some goals and projects to work on for 2021,” said LeRoy Jons of the Wyoming Food Coalition. “The planning committee will be putting together some notes from the conference this coming week and Adam (Bunker) will be working with folks to put together a conference summery.  Emily (Fender) will be getting numbers which I will share but I think on Thursday we had over 50 throughout the day and even today with the breakout sessions there was 30 or more in the two groups I set in on.  The soil health session and the nutrition/food security session were both well attended.  IT was a great successful conference.”

The agenda for Dec. 10 included topics such as the Wyoming Food Freedom Act, meat packing and processing, infrastructure, soil health initiative and food security/nutrition policy. Dec. 11 featured a WFFA policy workshop, a healthy soils workshop, a meat workshop and a nutrition/food security workshop.

The conference was free to the public and there were question and answer sessions for those wanting to participate.

Adam Bunker who is the president of the board for the food coalition is also a producer and helped to overseeing the conference this week.

“I am a producer up in Sheridan County,” Bunker said. “My father-in-law and I have a couple of greenhouses that we grow lettuce all year around hydroponically. We do about 600 heads of lettuce per week. We also do some other leafy greens and herbs in there.”

Bunker is excited as to the progress the Wyoming Food Coalition has made in the past year and says that the conference was not only put forth to make the coalition more visible, but in each area, there is going to be an assessment as to what more is needed in each area for the coming year to make the organization more effective.

The organization held the conference in a Zoom format and had more than twice what was seen as far as participation in last year’s conference. The ease of not traveling and being able to access from their homes has made organizers wonder if this should be the format going forward.          

“I was amazed by the turnout as well as by the enthusiasm and engagement of the participants,” said Mike Selmer from Wyoming Climate Activists. “Given how most of us have been on Zoom for what seems like eight months straight, this was a surprisingly enjoyable experience. A lot of very important work was accomplished in terms of organizing to advance a variety of initiatives. I believe both the Sustainable Ecosystems working group and the WFC overall gained a good number of new, active members. The Soil Health Initiative workshop attracted about 30 people and will provide a good springboard for moving this effort forward in 2021.”

One of the most visited sessions was dealing with the Wyoming Food Freedom Act. Panelists, Tyler Lindholm, Justin Latham, and Stephanie Styvar clarified the existing policies and answering participants questions.

Wyoming Food Freedom Act In 2015, the Wyoming Legislature passed HB0056, creating the Wyoming Food Freedom Act, W.S. 11-49-101 through 11-49-103, which became effective March 3, 2015, amended July 1, 2017. The general purpose of the Wyoming Food Freedom Act(WFFA) is to allow for the sale and consumption of homemade foods. 1. Q. Where can the producer sell their food? A. A sale may take place at farmers markets, ranches, farms and producers’ homes. Sales may not occur within commercial food establishments as defined in W.S. 35-7-110(a)(xxxi).2. Q. What is an “informed end consumer?” A. An “informed end consumer” is a person who is the last to purchase any product, who does not resell the product, and who has been informed that the product is not licensed, regulated, or inspected.3. Q. What is a “farmers market?” A. A “farmers market” is a common facility or area where several vendors may gather on a regular, recurring basis to sell a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, locally grown farm products and other items directly to consumers.4. Q. Are farmers markets subject to inspection for compliance with federal, state or local food safety regulations? A. Yes.5. Q. Is one vendor a farmers market? A. No.6. Q. Are roadside stands allowed under the Food Freedom Act? A. The Food Freedom Act does not specifically prohibit roadside stands.7.Q. What is “homemade” food? A. “Homemade” means food is food that is prepared or processed in a private home kitchen that is not licensed, inspected or regulated. 8. Q. What types of homemade foods may be sold under the WFFA?A. Produce and home-processed foods that are processed without meat or wild game. Except as provided by the act. 9. Q. Can poultry and poultry products be sold under this act? A. Yes, so long as poultry producers maintain compliance with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Poultry Products Inspection Act. A producer must slaughter less than 1,000 poultry during a calendar year; not engage in buying or selling poultry products other than those produced from poultry of his own raising; and only sell such poultry and poultry products within the State of Wyoming. The poultry is not adulterated or misbranded.

  1. Q. Does this Act allow the sale of raw milk and products made from raw milk? A. Yes.11. Q. Are WFFA products allowed in commercial food establishments? A. No, except for raw, unprocessed fruit and vegetables. Food shall not be sold or used in any commercial food establishment unless the food has been labeled, licensed, packaged, regulated, or inspected as required by law. 12. Q. Can meat such as beef, pork, lamb, or goat be sold under this act? A. No. Meat and meat products must be slaughtered, processed and labeled in a Wyoming state or federally inspected meat plant. 13. Q. Can a producer sell a live animal intended for slaughter? A. Yes, but a producer must still comply with the Wyoming Livestock Board’s statutes, rules and regulations regarding change in ownership.14. Q. Can the sale of custom portions of live animals for future delivery be made at a farmers market, farm, ranch, home, office or any location agreed to between the producer and the informed end consumer? A. Yes, provided that the processing of the portion of animal is done by a Wyoming or Federally inspected and licensed processing facility. Change in ownership of the animal(or portion thereof)must take place before the animal is slaughtered. Product must be labeled “not for sale” and can only be delivered to the person (s) who bought the animal. Producer must still comply with the Wyoming Livestock Board’s statutes, rules and regulations regarding change in ownership.15. Q. Can wild game and game products be sold under this act? A. No. W.S. 23-3-302 prohibits the sale or barter of wild game, animals, birds, or fish. 16. Q. Can any of the products be shipped interstate? A. No. Transactions under this Act shall only occur in Wyoming.17. Q. Can out-of-state producers sell in Wyoming under the WFFA?A. No. WFFA transactions shall not involve interstate commerce. 18. Q. Can a person cater out of their home under this act? A. Under the Act, a producer may only cater to a private home.19. Q. Can a producer prepare food on-site at the farmers market? A. No, this becomes a temporary food stand and must be licensed through state inspection and use only food obtained in accordance with federal and state food safety law. The only exemption to this is for a person to cook a product prepared in a home kitchen and given out as samples at the farmers market.20. Q. Can a home producer do internet sales under this Act? A. Yes, but only for delivery within Wyoming. 21. Q. Do ungraded eggs still have to meet the requirements of the Wyoming Food Rule? A. Yes, but the Wyoming Food Rule already allowed sales of ungraded eggs consistent with existing USDA Federal Regulations and exemptions. Sales of ungraded eggs was and remains legal. Eggs must be clean and refrigerated. If desired, clean cartons in good condition may be reused if all labeling from original use is marked out. The carton should be labeled with the name and address of the producer, a packaging date and state "ungraded" and “keep refrigerated.”
  2. Q. Does the Act permit the Wyoming Department of Health to investigate any foodborne illnesses? A.Yes.23. Q. Could a producer potentially face liability if an illness occurs as a result of their WFFA product? A. Potentially yes, this is a question that should be further directed to your attorney.24. Q. Can food items be frozen then taken to the farmers market and sold as a frozen product? A. Yes. It is recommended the items be kept frozen through the sale to the informed end consumer.25. Q. How can fish be sold at the farmers market? A. The sale of farm raised fish provided: the fish is raised in accordance with Title 23 of the Wyoming Statutes. This is in reference to the Wyoming Game and Fish statutes. As noted in question No. 15 above, wild fish cannot be sold at a farmers market under the Wyoming Food Freedom Act. Catfish is not allowed as it is amenable to the USDA Meat Inspection Act. Any other fish would be considered a food and would be able to be sold at a farmers market. It is recommended the fish that is sold be maintained at proper temperatures.26. Q. What are the requirements on how to inform the end consumer? A. The Wyoming Food Freedom Act does not state how the producer shall inform the end consumer just that they shall inform the end consumer that any food product or food sold at a farmers market or through ranch, farm or home based sales pursuant to this section (of the Act) is not certified, labeled, licensed, packaged, regulated or inspected. Failure to notify consumers means you are no longer operating under the WFFA and will be regulated pursuant to the standard Wyoming food safety requirements for licensure and compliance with the Wyoming Food Safety Rule.27. Q. Is a sampling license required for giving out samples of WFFA products? A. No.28. Q. Is the sale of rabbit meat allowed? A. Yes.

To get more information on the conference, please email the coalition at: info@wyfoodcoalition.org  and you can also follow them at Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for conference updates: @wyfoodcoalition

For more information on the program, please contact either Dr. Gleyn Bledsoe at: gbledsoe@uwyo.edu or Clayton L. Jons at: cjons2@uwyo.edu.