Community garden in Long Island City, NY. Photo by Kimberley Hodgson.

The next APA National Planning Conference will take place May 6-9, 2017 in New York City. APA-FIG is busy planning some unique sessions and networking events!

If you haven’t already, consider submitting a food systems planning related session proposal. Because of its location, this conference should draw a big crowd, and we would love to see a robust number of food systems planning sessions in the program. The deadline for proposal submissions is August 25, 2016.

If you need some inspiration, consider some of these session ideas:

• Role of technology in food systems planning
• Role of local food businesses in the local creative economy
• Planning for food waste and its impact on sustainability goals
• Role of the planner in food policy councils
• Using Collective Impact for food systems planning and implementation
• Role of state and regional planning efforts for local food systems

Also, if you are looking to join forces with other APA-FIG members or have a neat idea for a session, post a message on the APA-FIG Facebook page, LinkedIn page, or Twitter feed.

And last, but not least, APA-FIG is looking for sponsors for the annual network event. If you work for an organization that may be interested, please let me know.

We look forward to seeing you in New York City.