Events
Growing Healthy Food Systems from the Ground Up
March 2010, Nelsonville, Ohio
In Central Appalachia, across the country and around the world, interest in healthy food systems is growing. To take advantage of that interest, the Central Appalachian Network (CAN) hosted the “Growing Healthy Food Systems from the Ground Up” gathering in Nelsonville, Ohio on March 30th, followed by an optional day in the field on March 31st to explore production processes and facilities that assist farm-related businesses. The Central Appalachian Network (CAN) is comprised of seven action-oriented nonprofit organizations based in Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The day focused on moderated panels on various topics of interest to accelerate and expand local food systems. Panels shared and discussed best practices in markets, processing, aggregation, distribution and policy. All panels were moderated by CAN members, and panelists included small business owners, CAN grantees, state department of agriculture representatives and a federal viewpoint from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Click here for the agenda and here for bios of the panelists.
The day’s keynote speaker was Warren Taylor of Snowville Creamery in Ohio. Taylor is passionate about local farming issues, and discussed his views on the survival of local farming in the day of large “industrial” farms. A recent article about Warren and the Snowville Creamery appeared in the Washington Post.
The afternoon included sub-regional action planning sessions to provide an opportunity for participants to meet with others from their geographical region. They discussed the strengths and challenges of their area and made plans for future work and collaboration. The groups came back together and shared with the larger group the results of their discussions and plans for the future.
On Wednesday, March 31, there was an optional field day that included visits to Green Edge Gardens, Ohio University Food Services, lunch at Eclipse Company Store, and a tour of ACEnet’s Specialty Food Production Center.
Proceeding paper is being developed and will be sent to attendees and available on the CAN website. Click here for the list of participants.
Growing Healthy Food Systems from the Ground Up
April 2009, Roanoke, West Virginia
In April 2009, CAN hosted Growing Healthy Food Systems from the Ground Up. The event gathered the key ingredients to promoting healthy food systems in our region including food producers, distributors, markets, educators, intermediaries, agencies, academics, philanthropists and many others. Attendees came from the Central Appalachian states of Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and beyond. At the meeting we set the table for growing healthy food systems by:
- Sharing innovative and adaptable models
of CAN member organizations and others
- Offering a menu of value chain learning opportunities
- Providing a space for participants in value chains
to connect, partner, and collaborate
You can download the presentations here, the materials from the small group sessions here, and the full participants list here.
Since the gathering, CAN has identified four next steps based on our resources and what we heard from participants at the gathering.
- A Sustainable Agriculture Value Chains Small Grants Program to help build the capacity of partners with technical assistance, expand work underway in partner organizations, and accelerate innovative pilot projects that fill gaps in sustainable agriculture value chains.
- Strengthening local partnerships between CAN and sustainable agriculture practitioners in Central Appalachia. We are committed to mentoring and coordinating regional and sub-regional gatherings to share technical assistance and provide opportunities for networking.
- Developing toolkits to increase practical knowledge and the sharing of best practices. Coming soon are three place-based toolkits that can be adapted in other areas. The topics include: building sustainable agriculture value chains, best practices in developing a produce auction, and food system mapping.
- Providing consultations and connections to other experts in the field of sustainable agriculture which may include one-on-one work, online resources, learning tours, or other activities to be determined.
Click here for a full summary of the event and next steps.
Building Sustainable Economies in a Shrinking World
November 2007
In 2007, CAN hosted Building Sustainable Economies in a Shrinking World. You can download the presentation here and find more information about the event in these two publications:
Central Appalachian Roundtable:
Policy Innovations for Sustainable Entrepreneurship
February 2005
In 2005, CAN hosted an Entrepreneurial Policy Roundtable. To learn more
about CAN's work with entrepreneurship, you can download Strategies for
Sustainable Entrepreneurship, the publication from the event.
Small Grants Program
Small Grants Awarded to Grow Healthy Local Food Systems
This summer CAN held an open call for proposals for a small grant program aimed at building healthy local food systems in Central Appalachia. Proposals were submitted from around the region and showed the innovation and variety of sustainable agriculture work in Central Appalachia. In September 2009, CAN awarded eight grants to groups from the five states in CAN’s service area. Examples of the projects include infrastructure like distribution vehicles and venues, support to develop the regional supply of staple foods like grains and beans, and custom processing for small-scale regional meat producers. Click here for a list of grantees.
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