Why it's great that the International Food Blogger Conference is coming to Sacramento


We just got some news that I think is great for Sacramento. One of the best (and my favorite) food bloggers' conferences is coming to Sacramento in July 2016. Next year's theme: Farm to Fork (big surprise). That means about 500 of the nation's top food bloggers (and a few international) will be coming to town.

The International Food Blogger Conference (IFBC) is one of the top in the country.  I love it and I've gone to IFBC four times myself. There are many reasons.

First is the content. The sessions are actually helpful and educational. Whether it's about improving search engine optimization (SEO), food photography, or pitching book deals, you will come out having learned something. Second would be the speakers. Over the past few years the speakers have included documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, famed food critic Jonathan Gold, Saveur editor Joel Oseland, and famed food photographer Penny De Los Santos. Finally is the camaraderie with food blogging friends made over the years from across the country.

What does it mean for Sacramento?  500 or so food bloggers in town? Promotion! Promotion of our food scene, farm to fork, and all the wonderful things our area has to offer in terms of agri-tourism.

One thing IFBC does is offers food bloggers a huge conference discount as long as they write three posts devoted to IFBC. While some will be writing about the conference, many will be writing about their visit, the restaurants they ate at, the events they attended. Again, great promotion for Sacramento.

The Friday is always pre-conference activities. This will include tours and so I can picture visits to farms, orchards, breweries, or wineries in the area. Then Friday and Saturday evening events are a showcase of the bounty of the region with samplings of food and drink from purveyors and local restaurants. After that, bloggers will be descending on restaurants around town.

To promote Farm to Fork across the U.S. and attract visitors to come, you can't ask for a better promotional opportunity than for IFBC's hundreds of food bloggers to spread the word.