This post was originally published on Ohio’s Winding Road website. BY GRANT JOY Photos courtesy of Dustin Massengill Historically in Appalachian Ohio, there was an emphasis placed on subsistence farming. Before the timber and coal booms of the 19th century, Ohio’s hill country was dotted with small-scale family farms. Recently, the region has started to […]
Last month the Food & Ag System Working Group hosted a learning call to share information on the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The REAP program aids farmers in financing renewable energy sources or making energy efficiency improvements. Colleagues from our Clean Energy Working Group joined the call to share their expertise on the […]
A necessity for every gourmand, and our last entry, is Farm on the Ridge. Another staple at the Athens Farmer’s Market, you may have seen them on Saturday morning where they sell amazing pork products. In their own words, read how they got their start:
Running a small business in Southeast Ohio takes hard work, tenacity, and gumption. People start small businesses for a number of different reasons, so we’re going to spend our next three blog posts introducing you to three ACEnet clients who you may know, but if you don’t, this is your opportunity to learn about them, […]
CAN has finished compiling local food systems data for 2018, and we are excited to share the results from another successful year! Highlights include over $20 Million in producer sales, over 1,100 year-round jobs, $16 Million in wholesale buyer purchases.
We met Gina Gabriel last year when she came to an ACEnet small business class at the Glouster Library. She told us that she had bought some land, and had begun selling plants. Here, in her own words, she explained her start to the present:
In November of 2018 the Central Appalachian Network held its first Regional Peer-to-Peer Convening at Tamarack in Beckley, West Virginia. Approximately 115 people attended the event, including economic development practitioners, community change makers, funders, and sector experts working in the Central Appalachian region. Discussions were focused on individual sectors and topics, and on cross-cutting issues affecting the equitable transition of the Central Appalachian region. The three concurrent session tracks focused on the three topics of CAN’s working groups: Food and Agriculture Systems, Clean Energy, and Creative Placemaking.
Over the months leading up to this past winter, I was given the opportunity to work with CAN and their many partner organizations across the Appalachian region to highlight the work they are doing to improve healthy food access in their communities. I captured these initiatives through a number of short videos, each highlighting a different project described in recently completed case studies conducted and published by CAN and the Appalachian Funders Network.
The joint Food & Ag Systems Working Group between CAN and the Appalachia Funders Network worked together to conduct and publish six case studies of projects at the intersection of food access and health. Several members of the Funders Network funded the work to document and highlight lessons from innovative projects around the region, and CAN […]
This Food & Ag Systems Working Group learning call, hosted by CAN and the Appalachia Funders Network, featured a collection of leading practitioners and funders who work on agroforestry and forest farming around the region. They shared key concepts and definitions, highlighted current projects taking place across the region, and emphasized the economic potential, environmental impact, […]
CAN members, practitioner partners, and Appalachia Funders Network members of the Food &Ag Systems Working Group (FASWG) were joined by policy experts from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC). NSAC staff shared an overview of the Farm Bill process,identified critical USDA programs that are funded through the bill, and laid out opportunities to get involved in […]
Authored by the Appalachian Foodshed Project for CAN and the Food & Ag Systems Working Group of the Appalachia Funders Network, this report provides state-level data snapshots related to food, agriculture, poverty, and health of the Central Appalachian region and suggests approaches to creating and utilizing data as a means of understanding and addressing food, […]