Presented by Central Appalachian Network in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture

Sponsored by: the educational foundation of america, foundation for a healthy kentucky, and Sugarbush Valley impact investments

A Fair Food System is a six-part summit series that will discuss scalable solutions to creating community food systems. The summit will include educational presentations, panel discussions, networking events, and breakout sessions to address community food system issues within Central Appalachia. Topics include Local Food Value Chains, Climate Resiliency, Healthcare, SNAP Incentive Programs, and Food Policy.

CAN has five goals for this Summit:
  1. Facilitate a learning environment regarding the problems related to nutrition security such as healthy food access and affordability.
  2. Engage a coalition of organizations who are working to build and support resilient and accessible community food systems.
  3. Employ targeted technical assistance from the USDA and other qualified providers.
  4. Attract federal, public, and private funding for scalable programs addressing nutrition security in Central Appalachia.
  5. Invite nonprofit partners within Central Appalachia who are working on related projects to join the network.
Summit Structure

A Fair Food System is divided into six one-day sessions. Each day will be comprised of 4-5 presentations and breakout sessions related to the focus of that session.

All sessions will be held virtually and are open to stakeholders working in the Central Appalachian food system in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. The Summit is free, but space is limited and registration is required. Please click the button below to register.

Register Here

Topics and Timeline

Summit Six — Capstone Summit
March 23, 2023 9:00AM–1:00PM EST

For Summit 6 Speakers & Agenda: Summit Six Speakers & Agenda

Agenda

Time   Topic   Presenters
9:00–9:20   Welcome to Summit Six

Goals and Impacts of Summit Series

Leslie Schaller, ACEnet
9:20-10:00   USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Programs

CAN project funding through USDA LAMP Investment

JuliAnna Arnett, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service

Leslie Schaller, ACEnet

10:00–10:50   Recommendations from Our Fields: Farmers on Farm Policy Kenya Abraham, SLAK Market Farm

More speakers TBA

10:50–11:50   Funders Investing in Food System Solutions Cheryl Graffagnino, Osteopathic Heritage Foundations

Baylen Campbell, Invest Appalachia

Marten Jenkins, Partner Community Capital

11:50–12:00   Active Break Jennifer Weeber, Community Farm Alliance
12:00–12:55   Regional and State Policy Recommendations for a Fair Food System Amalie Lipstreu, The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association

Central Appalachian Network (CAN) Members

Kimmie Ishmael, Community Farm Alliance

12:55-1:00   Wrap-Up – What’s Next for CAN Leslie Schaller, ACEnet

Summit One — Local Food Value Chains: Creating Health and Wealth
July 28, 2022 9:00AM–1:00PM EST, Summit One Recap

ICYMI

 

Summit Two
August 25, 2022 9:00AM–1:00PM EST, Summit Two Recap

ICYMI

 

Summit Three — Climate Resilience, Climate Smart Agriculture & Disaster Response
September 22, 2022 9:00AM–1:00PM EST, Summit Three Recap

ICYMI

 

Summit Four — Community-Based Solutions to Address Food Insecurity in Central Appalachia
October 27, 2022 9:00AM–1:00PM EST, Summit 4 Recap

ICYMI:

 

Summit Five — Summit Impacts Summary; Overview of PAD (Processing, Aggregation, Distribution); Keynote Appalachian Harvest; Meat Facilities panel, Investments in Infrastructure
January 26, 2023 9:00AM–1:00PM EST, Summit 5 Recap

ICYMI:

 

Summit Six — Capstone Summit
March 23, 2023 9:00AM–1:00PM EST

For Summit 6 Speakers & Agenda: Summit Six Speakers & Agenda

 

Please contact Meggan or Kayla with any questions.

The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, The Educational Foundation of America and Sugarbush Valley Impact Investments share the Central Appalachian Network’s (CAN) goal of improving access to healthy food for underserved communities and will sponsor the CAN and USDA Community Food Systems Summit: A Fair Food System: A Summit on Scalable Solutions to Creating Community Food Systems.