MEMBER MEETINGS

NSAC’s 2022 Summer Meeting

WHERE: Durham, North Carolina

WHEN: July 31 – August 3, 2022

Virtual New Member Orientation: July 27 @ 1:00 pm EST to 4:00 pm EST

AGENDA:

Sunday – July 31, 2022

Gathering space available @ 5:00 pm ET
Happy Hour @ Full Steam Brewing 6:00 – 8:00 pm ET

Monday – August 1, 2022

10:00 am – 7:00 pm ET; 9:00 am – 6:00 pm CT; 8:00 am – 5:00 pm MT; 7:00 am – 4:00 pm PT

VIRTUAL OPTION: Formal opening
- Welcome & Intros
- Host Committee Welcome
  - RAFI-USA; CFSA; Self-Help; Croatan Institute
- Organizational Council Report Out
- DC Report: The 2023 Farm Bill is Coming – Strategic Opportunities and the Work Ahead
VIRTUAL OPTION: Climate Change Cross-Issue Plenary & Discussion
- Featuring Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine via Zoom
Breakout Sessions (no virtual option)
- Climate Change, Conservation, & Agriculture
  - CEE, CCSC, REE
- Livestock Processing & Competition
  - FSI, FOFC
Racial Affinity Caucusing (no virtual option)
- People of Color Caucus
- White Caucus

Tuesday – August 2, 2022

10:00 am – 8:30 pm ET; 9:00 am – 7:30 pm CT; 8:00 am – 6:30 pm MT; 7:00 am – 5:30 pm PT

VIRTUAL OPTION: Structural Reform to Crop Insurance and Commodities
- FOFC
VIRTUAL OPTION: Lunch panel – CFSA discussion featuring Food Hubs & Farmers
Farm tour
- Tour 1
  - Transplanting Traditions
  - Faithfull Farms
- Tour 2
  - Braeburn Farm
  - Left Bank Butchery
- Dinner @ Faithfull Farms

Wednesday – August 3, 2022

90:00 am – 2:00 pm ET; 8:00 am – 1:00 pm CT; 7:00 am – 12:00 pm MT; 6:00 am – 11:00 am PT

Breakout Sessions
- Equity in Credit & Land Access
- Local and Regional Food systems
Narrative Development Workshop
- Working sessions to Develop & Refine 2023 Farm Bill Campaign Narratives
VIRTUAL OPTION: Formal closing
- Commitments
- Re-grounding in next steps together
- Farewells

COVID-19 SAFETY:

Like you, we take seriously the ongoing and evolving risks of COVID-19 transmission, infection, and illness. It’s normal to feel anxiety around meeting in-person, even with careful protocols, and we anticipate that COVID-19 protocols will be needed for all in-person events for the foreseeable future. Current public health guidelines indicates that with the following policies we can gather in person and significantly reduce exposure to COVID-19:

Masks will be required in all indoor spaces at all times other than when actively eating
Proof of vaccination will be required through upload to CrowdPass
Daily negative rapid testing – please test before traveling and each day of our event (rapid tests will be provided on-site)
Social distancing and respecting physical contact preferences of attendees
Monitoring personal health before and during the meeting

Please read through the following for all of our policies. Thank you for your willingness to abide by these during our meeting: these are designed to allow us to gather while protecting those who are vulnerable both at the meeting and in our communities and to give us increased peace of mind and safety for our time together.

TRAVEL

To help protect the NSAC staff and fellow members and reduce the risk of bringing COVID-19 to our meeting, we encourage you to please take full precautions when traveling, including masking in any public places and while on planes or trains.

We ask everyone to please take a rapid COVID-19 test *prior* to traveling to Durham – within 24-72 hours of travel. If you do test positive, we ask that you do not attend the meeting; we will fully refund your registration fee.

CHECK-IN
You’ll be able to self-check in upon arrival and pick up your agenda and goody bag to reduce lines / crowding.

MASK REQUIREMENTS
Based on data available from the CDC and numerous research studies, KN95/94 or N95 masks will be required of everyone while indoors in meeting spaces. In addition to sessions, hallways, foyer, elevators, and other spaces in the hotel, masks will also be required on site visit buses. We will not be the only guests at the hotel – so masking in public spaces is important! Exceptions are:

Outdoor spaces
Indoors while actively eating or drinking
Speakers while presenting
While necessary if communicating with someone who is hearing impaired when the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication

Reference the CDC Guide to Masks. Masks must be worn over the nose and mouth. Participants should be prepared to provide their own masks for the event, and we have additional supplies of N95 and KN95 grade masks for all participants.

VACCINATION

All attendees will be required to provide proof via our 3rd party verification system, CrowdPass:

Provide proof of full and up-to-date vaccination for COVID-19.*

*As defined by the CDC you are considered up to date on COVID-19 vaccination if:

You are fully vaccinated and have received a booster shot (when eligible), or
You received the last dose of a two-dose vaccine less than 5 months ago, or
You received a single-dose vaccine (like J&J) less than two months ago.

As mentioned above, NSAC will be using CrowdPass to verify your proof of vaccination. Neither personal health information nor testing results will be collected or seen by NSAC staff or members. Please note that if you do not submit your documentation to CrowdPass in advance of the meeting, you will not be permitted to join the event.

We understand that some individuals do not yet have access to the booster shot, or are ineligible to receive the booster dose at this time. Likewise some individuals may have religious or medical reasons for not having full vaccination. If you have questions or concerns about meeting the criteria for up-to-date vaccination, please reach out to Sarah directly.

COVID-19 TESTING PRE- AND DURING-EVENT

We will also ask attendees to rapid test each morning before our sessions: this helps us ensure that if someone does develop COVID-19 we can act quickly to ensure others are not exposed. NSAC is providing 4 rapid tests (2 boxes) to all attendees to make this as convenient as possible.

DISTANCING
As space and capacity permits, we aim to set up all meeting spaces with at least some room for distancing. NSAC will have three sticker choices (red, yellow, green) available at registration. These stickers are intended to serve as a non-verbal communication of physical contact preferences. While we have all missed being in person, not everyone will have the same comfort with hugs or handshakes. Regardless of the color sticker that someone chooses to wear, please always ask if someone is comfortable being hugged / shaking hands.

Red – Please keep your distance
Yellow – Semi comfortable getting close but let’s fist bump
Green – Bring it in for a hug!

MEALS

We ask that there be no eating in breakout sessions (we know coffee / water are important, so please do stay caffeinated and hydrated).

We also are not holding any working breakfasts at this meeting.

We are doing our best to extend meal times and breaks around meals to give members ample time to find their most comfortable way to enjoy meals, including away from the group if needed.

SYMPTOMS BEFORE OR DURING THE FORUM

If you are feeling sick or exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, or test positive for COVID-19, prior to the start of the conference, please do NOT come to Durham!

Should you start experiencing any symptoms while at the summer meeting, we will have a number of rapid diagnostic tests on hand. Please immediately return to your hotel room and text Sarah to have a test delivered to your hotel room door.

We can also deliver food, water, and/or medicine if needed.

[We will place a list here of nearest drugstores and testing sites]

Text or call Sarah and she (or another staff member) will bring you a box of tests; can also bring water, food, or medicine
Test right away, share result with Sarah
- If negative: Please test once more to confirm the result; if negative, afterward you may rejoin the event.
- If positive: Please isolate! We can provide you information on the nearest drugstore, urgent care, and testing site as needed.

In the event of a positive case at the meeting, we will notify registrants of a positive case via email & announcement in sessions and make additional tests available for anyone who wishes to test right away.

In the event of a positive case at the meeting, for members who are up to date on your COVID-19 vaccinations, or have had a positive test for COVID-19 in the last 90 days, CDC guidelines do not require you to also quarantine if you were exposed to someone with COVID, but you should be tested at least 5 days following the date of your exposure and monitor yourself for symptoms for 10 days. If you develop symptoms, you should self-isolate and be tested as soon as possible.

Last updated: July 27, 2022