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CAN News and Updates
Food Systems Working Group Submits USDA RCDI Application
The Central Appalachia Food Systems Working Group (FSWG) is a joint initiative of CAN and the Appalachia Funders Network. Throughout 2014, food system practitioners including CAN members and partners came together with funders to identify capacity needs and strategies within four sub-regions:
- Appalachian Ohio
- Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee
- Eastern Kentucky
- Eastern West Virginia
The analysis and strategies that emerged from these conversations were organized within a regional application for a USDA “Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI)†grant. This grant, if successful, will support 9 practitioner organizations and their funding partners in carrying out their collective plans to strengthen the local food economies and improve local food access in their sub-region.
Entrepreneurship Support Working Group Hosts Small Business Event
Beginning in the Spring of 2014, CAN piloted an Entrepreneurship Support Working Group of regional actors who come together to share their analysis, lessons, and best practices for supporting small businesses in Central Appalachia. Building on these learning conversations, CAN partnered with the WV Alliance for Economic Inclusion (a joint initiative of ARC and FDIC) to co-host a Small Business Trainers Workshop in Charleston, WV on December 10. Participants represented a wide array of support actors, including banks, universities, Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), non-profit organizations, USDA Rural Development, Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs), business consultants, investors, US Small Business Administration (SBA), and small business incubators. This group identified shared needs across the region, opportunities for shared work and collaboration, and possible next steps to improve the small business support system. Stay tuned for more information!
CAN Grantees Gather in West Virginia
Once again, CAN brought together our 2014 Small Grant recipients to make connections and share their projects. Over a day and a half in October, CAN members and grantees gathered to share questions, lessons learned, and promising approaches around topics such as Farm to School, organizational development, cooperatives and grower groups, and marketing and branding.
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Regional News
ASD and Rural Action Expand Farm to School Work
CAN members Appalachian Sustainable Development and Rural Action (whose F2S partnership with Hocking College and ACEnet started with a CAN small grant) both received USDA Farm to School grants to expand their work getting fresh local produce into school lunches.
From ASD: “This project will leverage Appalachian Sustainable Development’s infrastructure and expertise in market and farmer development and its relationships with schools to increase the flow of local produce into three local school systems in southwest Virginia and northeast Tennessee. This project will lay the foundation for a regionâ€wide network of school systems that will increase the ability to engage regional farmers.â€
From Rural Action: “This grant will support an ongoing partnership between Rural Action, Hocking College, and an expanding network of regional K-12 Schools. It will increase our capacity to bring fresh local produce to some of the poorest school districts in the State of Ohio, connecting the students to one of the strongest local food value chains in the State, while providing Hocking College Culinary Students with real world farm to table experiences.â€
Other National and Federal Grants for Local Foods in Central Appalachia:
ARC's "Bon Appétit Appalachia" Food Mapguide Gets National Attention
Since its launch this past July, Bon Appétit Appalachia has showcased local food and farm businesses and sites across the region. CAN members and partners have served as local partners for the initiative's rollout, and state tourism offices in WV, OH, VA, and KY have held supporting events and workshops. Check out the still-growing inventory on the Bon Appétit Appalachia website, or read this article from the Wall Street Journal.
Community Farm Alliance: Breaking Beans Communications Project
Longtime CAN partner and grantee CFA has a great new communications project called “Breaking Beans.†In CFA’s, words, “This project is telling the story of how local food and farming in Eastern Kentucky can contribute to a bright future in the mountains. We have five fellows writing articles, conducting interviews, and capturing photos to tell the stories of real people in the food community of Appalachia. You can read more about it here and you can see the stories here.â€
Coalfield Development Corporation a Finalist in Social Enterprise Contest!
CDC’s Reclaim Appalachia social enterprise, whose business plan was written with the support of a CAN grant, re-purposes deconstructed building materials to make furniture and provides critical job training at the same time. Now, they’re one of the finalists in an international social enterprise competition! Learn more about the contest here.
Eight Appalachian Communities are Winners of National “Local Foods, Local Places†Grant Competition
“Eight Appalachian communities (including four in Central Appalachia) are among the 26 selected nationwide as winners of the federal Local Foods, Local Places grant competition, which will provide communities with technical assistance and implementation support to help them integrate local food systems into their economic development action plans.†Read more on ARC’s web site!
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MIT Research Report for CAN on Food Hub Logistics
We are excited to release a research report produced for CAN by Jonah Rogoff, an MIT graduate student. The report, “Improving Systems of Distribution and Logistics for Regional Food Hubs,†was developed in response to the growing field of rural food hubs and the need to better understand best practices for logistics and distribution. The report surveys the existing literature around food hub models and the role they play in the food system, profiles various case studies from across the country, and provides a summary of research findings and recommendations for food hubs in Central Appalachia. Visit cannetwork.org or download it directly here, and please share this report as widely as you wish!
Wholesome Wave Food Hub Business Assessment Toolkit
This toolkit is one of several recent tools from the national organization Wholesome Wave. This document provides step by step guidance for evaluating every aspect of a food hub’s operations and business model, which can help determine investment readiness. Download a PDF of the toolkit here.
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