Affinity groups are a means for building capacity and connections needed to fulfill the Heartland Food Business Center’s mission of ensuring local and regional food system entrepreneurs have the right resource at the right time on their business building journey.
Affinity groups facilitate:
- Co-learning – Sharing of information and expertise among Heartland Food Business Center partners and peers.  
- Collaboration – Identifying and pursuing opportunities for coordination and collective action across the five-state region.  
Stakeholders and peers with similar interests are welcome to join Heartland Center affinity groups.
The following is a list of affinity groups that will send their specific meeting information.Â
SIGN UP FOR EACH YOU WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND. YOU WILL RECEIVE MEETING INFORMATION.
Farm to School
The Farm to School affinity group explores resources and opportunities for building farm to school programs and supply networks in the five state Heartland region.
Leader: Jaclyn Carroll, Farm Business Counselor, New Growth
Join Farm to School
Get an email with details for joining the Farm to School Affinity Group meetings.
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Food Hubs
This group endeavors to build a regional community of practice with food hub operators and resource providers learning together.
Leader: Bill McKelvey, Senior Project Coordinator, University of Missouri Extension
Join Food Hubs
Get an email with details for joining the Food Hub Affinity Group meetings.
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Food Processing
The Food Processing affinity group is a team of business assistance providers learning about available and needed food processing resources in the region. The group will work together and with partners to identify and fill food processing resource gaps.
Leader: Christa Hartsook, Small Farms Program Manager, Iowa State University Extension
Join Food Processing
Get an email with details for joining the Food Processing Affinity Group meetings.
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Food and Farm Policy
This affinity group is focused on building connections among on-the-ground food policy councils and networks. It facilitates peer-to-peer learning with quarterly webinars covering food and farm policy challenges and solutions in the Heartland region.
Leader: Emma Shankland, Food Policy Director, KC Healthy Kids
Join Food and Farm Policy
Get an email with details for joining the Food and Farm Policy Affinity Group meetings
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Land Access
This group intends to learn about and connect and strategize with those working on and interested in land access strategies.
Leader: Leah Vinton, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim
Join Land Access
Get an email with details for joining the Land Access Affinity Group meetings.
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Language Access
Ensuring that Heartland Center communications and events are welcoming and translated to the degree possible for non-English speakers is the focus of this group. Members provide translation and support other partners in building language access into their work.
Leader: Leah Vinton, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim
Join Language Access
Get an email with details for joining the Language Access Affinity Group meetings.
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Leveraging USDA Resources
Optimizing and maximizing deployment of USDA food system resources in the five-state Heartland Center region is the overall purpose of this affinity group.
Leader: Sheridan Garman-Neeman, Chief Community Wealth Building Officer, New Growth
Join Leveraging USDA Resources
Get an email with details for joining the Leveraging USDA Resources Affinity Group meetings.
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Logistics
The logistics affinity group works to identify and understand the transportation, warehousing, and related resources and systems for moving food that are in place in the five-state Heartland region. It aims to identify opportunities for addressing local and regional food system logistics challenges.
Leader: Steve Schulz, Assistant Professor of Management, University of Nebraska-Omaha
Join Logistics
Get an email with details for joining the Logistics Affinity Group meetings.
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Small Business Development
The small business development affinity group brings technical assistance providers together to share resources, approaches, and knowledge. Their focus is strengthening networks and resources for small, mid-size, and diverse food and farm entrepreneurs working in local and regional markets.
Leader: Jaclyn Carroll, Farm Business Counselor, New Growth
Join Small Business Development
Get an email with details for joining the Small Business Development Affinity Group meetings.
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Please contact us at the Heartland Center with any questions: hrfbc@newgrowthmo.org