CHARLESTON -
On January 23 more than 100 West Virginians – from farmers, to food business owners, technical assistance providers, dietitians, and young future farmers – converged on January 23, to chart a course to bring more local food from farm to table. The West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition and partners co-hosted the "Road Map for the Food Economy" day-long workshop in Bridgeport, WV.
"In West Virginia there has been a swell of local interest in things like producer cooperatives, farm-to-school programs, and other ways of selling and distributing local products that go beyond the classic farmers' market model," said Savanna Lyons, Program Manager for the WV Food & Farm Coalition.
"There's also interest in finding ways of using local food production to improve West Virginians' access to healthy food, whether by taking SNAP (food stamps) at farmers markets, starting community gardens, or opening outlets in places that lack a grocery store."
"I think Monday's workshop was a unique next step because people from all sectors of the economy sat down and actually planned what is needed to take local food to the next level. Several people told me how helpful it was just getting to know the person sitting next to them – that farmer, banker or food bank director whose perspective was so different from theirs, but who also valued West Virginia agriculture," she said.
At the workshop, citizens from across the state worked in groups to set goals and create an action plan for West Virginia's food system, in four key areas: Youth and the Next Generation of Farmers, Supporting Farmer Viability and Profitability, Improving Access to Healthy Food, and Improving School & Institutional Food.
According to a WVSU press release, in each of these areas, West Virginia has already made significant strides. Participants were treated to a series of video-slideshows highlighting innovative local food projects from across the state. One slideshow covered the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Martinsburg, which sources local food and finances its special purchases through a waste reduction program. All seven Fresh Ideas in Action videos are posted on YouTube.
With successes such as the Martinsburg, VA center as a guide, participants helped create a clearer "road map" for West Virginia's food system goals by targeting priority action items and creating a plan to measure success. Groups proposed actions such as creating farmer mentoring networks and providing more resources for young entrepreneurs, According to Mike Kwasniewski, a farmer from Randolph County, the event played a key role in moving discussions on local food forward.
"It's getting to the point where it feels like it's becoming refined into action plans, into concrete projects we can realize," he said.
Based on the targeted action items, participants with a vested interest in specific projects also began to form practical working groups to move forward on concrete plans, such as creating marketing cooperatives. Group members will draw from their collective knowledge and experience to problem-solve challenges together, to benefit their own work while addressing needs of West Virginia as a whole. A coalition of partner agencies will support the groups with communication resources and web tools, with funding provided through WVFFC and partners.
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