The Urban Food Systems Symposium: A Professional Meeting to Change the Way We Think about Global Food Security

To meet the challenge of feeding the predicted world population of 9 billion in 2050 and beyond, the identification of sustainable and alternative food production practices that continue to meet, or exceed, high expectations for quality and safety is essential. Robust systems must be built in order to maintain food security for growing urban populations, in particular.  Kansas State University's agricultural heritage, food systems expertise and world-class research facilities firmly establish the university as a leader in addressing the growing technological, educational and human resource needs of the global food system.  In April 2015, a group of research and extension faculty at Kansas State University were awarded a grant to host the first Urban Food Systems Symposium in the U.S. The symposium is a collaboration with a local not-for-profit organization, Cultivate Kansas City. Funding that was provided by the KSU Global Food Systems Initiative was leveraged to gain sponsorship from various agencies including: the University of Missouri, Kansas Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, and the City of Kansas City, Missouri in addition to industry partners. Internal sponsors also included the Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources as well as the Food Science Institute. Planning began in April 2015 and seven committees were formed, including: organizing, sponsorship, scientific, marketing and promotion, facilities and logistics, conference tour(s), and evaluation committees. Efforts were immediately put into place by the marketing committee, including the development of a website, printed materials, social media accounts, online advertising and email marketing efforts. The professional networks of the organizing committee members played an essential part in the marketing efforts. Additionally, a national contacts database was built by the Urban Food Systems graduate students. The email marketing list has grown to over 650 email addresses and the website traffic averaged nearly 100 visits per month as of March 2016.  Abstract submission information was marketed throughout related Urban Food Systems associations, news outlets, social media, website and email marketing efforts.  A total of 91 abstracts were received including submissions from the United States, Denmark and Nigeria. Nine student travel grants were awarded out of 23 submissions received. The abstracts include information related to an inter-disciplinary group of topics. The goal of the Urban Food Systems Symposium is to develop a community of researchers, educators, and community leaders to define and develop this important and emerging discipline.