Video Grow Your Food Business Ecosystem

Expand the market for local food within your community

25 minute video to watch on your schedule
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A prosperous, healthy and resilient community includes a solid base of local food businesses.

Which town is yours?

The way we've always done food businesses

There are only a few places to eat in town. They've been basically the same for a long time. They close early in the evenings and are all closed on Mondays.

When you talk about bringing in food trucks, town officials oppose it because they could hurt the few existing restaurants.

No one has tried opening a new food place in years.

The Idea Friendly Way

Food trucks are just one of many ways locals experiment with new restaurant concepts.

Existing restaurants that used to be closed on Monday now let aspiring chefs use their space on Mondays to try out whole new menus.

The lunch-only sandwich shop downtown shares its existing space with a new dinner-only place, and in the mornings a bakery is trying a pop-up in that same space to test pastry sales.

An existing commercial kitchen in a church or an old school building is re-certified by the health department for meal prep and commercial cooking so would-be pop-up restaurant owners can cook there and serve anywhere all over town.

Now temporary restaurants may pop-up inside any existing business, like a furniture store or an insurance office.

Empty buildings get used for one-night-only dinners hosted by aspiring chefs.

Food trucks are joined by food scooters and push carts at special events.

Every year, lots of people try out new food businesses like this. The local food scene has never been more exciting.

You can revitalize your community's food business ecosystem. Here's how.

Expand the market for local foods, tapping locals and visitors.

Demand for local food is strong.
Growing, making and selling local food is challenging.
In between is the opportunity: finding more ways to get more local foods in front of more people.

This video gives you practical actions to expand the market for local food within your community

You can get started right away ...

Creating new sales outlets for local foods
- Using existing businesses
- Starting and supporting grocery stores and food markets
Using the innovative business models to nurture new food businesses
- Tiny, temporary, together, traveling... food businesses have never had more options
Expanding food tourism to draw new people to your community
- Your culture is the key to enticing visitors

That's a lot. But you don't have to do it all. Just listen for the one or two ideas that really excite you. Those are the ones to take action on right away.

We created the Idea Friendly Method to be simple, easy to explain and quick to do. You don't need complicated hierarchies and elaborate plans to accomplish your goals. You just need practical steps you can put into action right away.

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You don't have to have a lot of food businesses to get started.

Each local ecosystem is different, and each local food business ecosystem will be different.

Ideas that work in one place won’t apply in others because the foods, farms and ecology are different.

Some places have lots of food related assets, and some places have less to start with. And that's OK.

Norfolk County calls themselves Ontario’s Garden.

They are leaders in that Canadian province in production of many different crops. Local farmers grow a huge range of foods from lavender and hops, to apples and ginseng. They have lots of growers, processors and a strong food based economy.

At the other end of the spectrum is Woods County, Oklahoma.

We have a lot of agriculture, but it’s almost all cattle and wheat, very little else is grown here. But even here, we’re seeing new business experiments like a you-pick berry farm and a dairy that started with a single milk cow.

No matter where your community is starting, the Idea Friendly Method is your best starting point.

You start with your big goal for your community, the one you are most excited to work toward. You use that goal to Gather Your Crowd. You turn your crowd into a powerful network by Building Connections. And you and your newly-powerful network accomplish that goal by Taking Small Steps.

This 25 minute video shows you how to apply the Idea Friendly Method to any food business project or big local foods dream.

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How this helps you build a more unified community

Throughout 2021, we're focused on helping you build a more unified community. With all the forces that feel like they're pulling us apart, we want to help local communities like yours join together better.

Here's how local food business ecosystems help strengthen communities.

More local food businesses means a more prosperous and resilient community.

Our economy will be stronger with a more diverse business base that includes locally grown foods
When disasters, economic downturns and unexpected events occur in the future, our community will be better prepared with more food that’s locally grown and ready to share

Supporting local food culture supports local communities.

Food is the easiest way to build bridges between people.
Valuing the people’s traditional foods values the people too

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Deb walks some students through Taking Small Steps to a food business.

Young people love the idea of new places to eat and more interesting food choices. That makes them potential food entrepreneurs.

More practical steps you can put into action right away:

Sneaky ways to expand local food sales

The quick and cheap way to replace a lost grocery store

Two cool ways to connect visiting food trucks to your local food ecosystem

You can trust SaveYour.Town's Becky McCray and Deb Brown to share practical advice for rural communities.

We're not biased toward any specific program or solution. We give honest advice.

Deb Brown and Becky McCray joined forces in May 2015 to help small towns and rural communities thrive. They developed the Idea Friendly Method out of their own personal experiences in business, agriculture, entrepreneurship, nonprofits and government.

You'll get the full 25 minute video you can watch on your own and share with others in your community.

This video is perfect for:

Food entrepreneurs, non-traditional farmers, beginning farmers
Economic developers interested in food, community foundations
Extension, universities with ag and food focus
Government agriculture groups like USDA, NRCS, FSA
Tribes, Indigenous, First Nations governments, development organizations
Agriculture organizations like Farm Bureau, growers associations
Tourism: local food tourism, agritourism
Food and ag businesses: farm and lifestyle dealers, greenhouses, garden supplies, real estate agents in farm/ranch properties
Shared kitchens, food incubators

Not another tiresome webinar

Short, to the point video
Watch instantly on your schedule: anytime, on demand, starting now
Recorded so you can pause, stop, rewind or watch again immediately

You won't waste time waiting for everyone to sign in or sitting through long introductions. You don't have to put up with technical glitches or annoying background noise from inconsiderate participants. No one will fumble around with how to control their video or say "Can you see my screen?"

You get personal access to Becky and Deb via message, email and comment. We do answer your questions personally!

Grow Your Food Business Ecosystem - video with Deb Brown and Becky McCray

25 minute video
Available immediately - no waiting

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Is this video recorded so I can watch later?

Yes, the video is recorded, and you'll be able to watch it immediately as soon as you complete your purchase. You are welcome to watch the video more than once, start and stop, or go back and watch again. You're not limited to watching from a single computer or with just one group.

Can I get a copy of the slides?

You get a transcript plus an audio-only version. You also get a downloadable PDF with the links to the special resources we mention.

What if I have questions?

You can ask questions two ways: in the comment box or via email. We always answer you personally. You can also share stories or examples you've seen. That helps everyone!

Will the video play on my computer? Or on my phone?

Either one! If you can watch a YouTube video, you can watch this video. That means you can use any device, any screen that can load a web page for you to login. Any PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android phone or tablet, smart TV or TV with a streaming box or stick should work.
You don't need blazing fast internet.

Can I share the video with other people?

Yes! Once you’re registered, you can schedule more than one viewing so you reach as many people as possible. We encourage you to watch on your own or set up a virtual watch party.

How long is the video? How long should I made the watch party?

For a watch party, schedule 45 -50 minutes. You'll want that extra time to discuss what you watched and to network and talk with each other.

Who should I invite?

Your friends who love to do things with you
Visionaries like yourself
Downtown associations, Main Streets, chambers and economic developers
Positive thinkers and doers
Leaders and regular people
Community foundations and leadership groups
Elected officials from your local municipalities, counties or tribes
Business with a community focus, like banks and utilities
People who care about your town

What people say about SaveYour.Town videos

This video stimulated lots of note-taking and conversation between the business owners gathered at my house. Deb and Becky gave us some new ideas and several excellent examples of known models. I think some of us are thinking of pivoting our summer’s plans after participating in Wednesday’s event. Thanks for a well-thought out presentation!

Jonya Pacey, Minnesota

What a TERRIFIC marketing Video. I had 20 businesses show up to watch and they all left with new ideas and an excitement to get back and start implementing! I’ve already had 5 businesses reach out in less than 2 hours after it ended, that are already putting your ideas into action.

Mandy Walsh, City of Lampasas, Texas

There are always great take-aways from the videos that can be put into place immediately. One of my favorites is changing your store's evening vibe (different music, lighting, etc.) because evening shoppers are not the same as day time shoppers.

Diane Moore, Wheaton, Illinois

Videos by SaveYour.Town are fun way to learn some no-nonsense alternatives to community inertia.

Clark Hoskin, Ontario

Expand the market for local foods, grow your food business ecosystem

25 minute video
Immediate access

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