Building Local Food Systems
 

Calling all farmers, producers, and value-added businesses in Southwest Missouri! Join us for a Farmer & Producer Information Session hosted in collaboration with Roots and Harvest Community, Ash Grove Farmers Market, and Harvick Farms. Through this evening you will learn how to connect to multiple market channels and business resources that help move local food through area Farmers Markets, Farm Stops, CSA, Farm to School, Institutional Sales, and Food as Medicine programs.

On Novemeber 12, 2025 at the Missouri Governor's Ag Conference at the Columbia Executive Center in Columbia, MO, Roots & Harvest Community was honored with the 2025 Missouri Grown Farm to Table Award  — a recognition given to organizations that champion the mission of getting local food onto the plates of our communities. Executive Director Jasmin LeBlanc accepted the award, joined by Tressie Gilmore and Dawnya Mashburn, representing the incredible heart and hands behind this

Roots and Harvest Community Roots and Harvest Community is a nonprofit organization creating a secure local food system across 12 counties in Southwest Missouri. We connect local producers, consumers, and retail food businesses through direct sales, education, collaboration, and sustainable practices—empowering small-scale farmers while reducing food deserts in rural communities. Our Farm Stop Model We operate Missouri's first year-round Farm Stop, a community marketplace whe