Engaging Farmers, Culinary Schools, and Communities in Value-Added Production to Strengthen Local Food Systems.

Value-added products can generate farm income and improve community food access, yet lack of available kitchen infrastructure and labor can limit farm production capacity. This project explored how communitybased culinary schools might fill the gap. A unique "product share" model was identified and piloted, meeting the collective needs of farmers, a culinary school, and urban consumers. By researching farmer crop availability and business model preferences, and aligning value-added production with community food preferences, we demonstrate a successful pilot indicative that similar initiatives can be replicated in other metropolitan areas, with potential to engage cross-disciplinary extension professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]