Join us for our first FEDtalks on Saturday, February 8th!
When small farmers and food producers set out to build their businesses, they rarely think about how storytelling fits into the overall picture, sometimes helping—and oftentimes hindering—their potential success. Sherri Lynn Dugger of Indiana Farmers Union and Women, Food and Agriculture Network will discuss why storytelling matters. This interactive two-hour workshop helps participants delve into what makes their farm or food business unique and how to communicate those qualities to diverse audiences. Participants will learn what makes a good story and how stories can compel consumers (or bankers or government officials) to action—whether they want them to purchase their products, better understand their business plans, fund their grant applications or support a particular cause or issue. This workshop offers a toolkit for creating storytelling campaigns and concludes with a discussion about the many ways farmers, food producers and advocates can strengthen relationships through narrative that engages and inspires.
Come to learn and network over a locally-sourced and artfully-crafted brunch from Scarpe!
As a professional journalist, Sherri Dugger was trained in her early career to trust in facts, which she believed could change the world. But overwhelming evidence today shows us that facts won’t necessarily change the world and—oftentimes—won’t even change minds. Stories, however, do. Through stories, farmers, food system workers, activists and educators can advocate, organize and bridge divides. The Executive Director of both Women, Food and Agriculture Network and Indiana Farmers Union, as well as a national food system consultant and coalition leader, Dugger will discuss how she has come to understand the power of stories to build community through collaboration, while inspiring and empowering others to act.
With nearly two decades of experience editing magazines and books, Sherri Dugger now puts her media and public relations experience to work in the agriculture field. Dugger serves as executive director of both Women, Food and Agriculture Network and Indiana Farmers Union and as a policy and communications consultant for American Grassfed Association. She has served as a Midwest outreach consultant for Earthjustice and a rural affairs consultant for The Humane Society of the United States. She is a co-chair of the national Farmers and Ranchers for a Green New Deal coalition. An advocate for local and regional food systems, environmental sustainability, humane animal agriculture, and diversified family farming, she also frequently lobbies at the Indiana Statehouse and on Capitol Hill. Dugger is a member of the National Agricultural Advisory Council for The Humane Society of the United States, and she re-established the Midwest Sustainable Agriculture Working Group in early 2019. Dugger resides on a small farm in Morristown, Indiana, with her husband, Randy, and their dogs, cats, donkeys, goats, alpacas, chickens, and honeybees.