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2019

  • Received the ARC Power Grant to hire Foodshed Coordinators to work in five foodsheds covering 17 counties throughout the state

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2017​

  • ​Created WV Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (WV CRAFT) program, and launched our first farm tour in Morgantown.

  • Passed SB 25 Farm to Food Bank

  • Developed #WVFarmBill2018, a multimedia campaign to show the importance of SNAP for WV families and farmers.

  • Developed marketing materials for the WV Incubator Farm Network that incorporates agriculture training opportunities across the state of West Virginia.

  • WV Incubator Farm Network (WVIFN) organized professional development trainings specifically addressing the educational content of the programs and the implementation of the training.

  • The Value Chain Cluster Initiative (VC2) and WV Food & Farm Coalition piloted the WV Collaborative Impact Tracking Pilot Project (WV CITPP) that offers a system for collecting metrics from intermediary food and farm organizations in West Virginia, storing and analyzing the information, and creating an annual report based on the metrics collected.


2016 

  • August: Welcomed a new executive director to the organization

  • Launched Beginning Farmer Program, as a result of the Beginning Farmer listening session at the 2016 Small Farms Conference.  They brought up land access, peer-to-peer training and transition from incubator farm programs.

  • ​After more than a year of planning, we placed an AmeriCorps VISTA in the New and Greenbrier Valley Area to launched our foodshed pilot project.

  • ​Commenced pilot Farm Market Viability Study in the New River and Greenbrier Valley foodshed


​2015

  • February: 3rd annual Road Map for the Food Economy Conference (turned webinar!)

  • February: organized a food hub track, a mobile farmers market workshop, food policy workshop, and farm employment workshop at the Small Farm Conference in Charleston

  • ​March: the Meat Working Group hosted the first “Opportunities in Niche Meat Production” training


2014

  • Held third-annual Road Map to the Food Economy Conference, where we presented the 2014 Road Map Update.

  • Advocated for the successful passage of a regulatory rule on the behalf of West Virginia farmers that increased the on-farm poultry processing limit from 1000 to 3000 per flock with a total of 20,000 per year.

  • Published toolkit, “Farmers Market SNAP Outreach: Tactics and Best Practices in West Virginia”

  • Convened an Advocacy Training for Working Groups, featuring state legislators & agency members, lobbyists, community organizers, and more.

  • Funded Mobile Farmers Markets operated by Grow Ohio Valley (Wheeling), and the Williamson Farmers Market (Williamson).

  • Organized a tour of the Greenbrier Valley Local Food System for the Appalachian Regional Commission.

  • Hired first Program Coordinator and received approval from the IRS regarding 501(c)3 status.


2013

  • Held second-annual Road Map to the Food Economy Conference.

  • Organized a tour of West Virginia Foodsystems for the Appalachian Regional Commission.

  • Hired a summer Food Policy fellow and made comments on the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

  • Hired first Executive Director and submitted 501(c)3 paperwork.

  • Recruited second AmeriCorps OSMRE/VISTA through the Appalachian Coal Country Team.


2012

  • Held first-annual Road Map to the Food Economy Conference, effectively diagnosing the landscape of local food and agriculture in the state and what steps need to be taken to bolster local food systems state-wide.

  • Published studies: “West Virginia Food System: Seasonal Production Expansion and its Impacts” and “West Virginia Food System: Opportunities and Constraints in Local Food Supply Chains.”

  • Funded several Rapid Response Mini-Grants, sponsored by Benedum, to the following organizations: Small Farm Training Center (Wheeling), Tri-State Food & Farm Conference (Huntington), Fayette County Cooks Association, and East Wheeling Community Gardens.

  • Released Fresh Ideas in Action video series.


2011

  • Held 4 Regional Roundtables across the state, resulting in this summarizing report.

  • Hired a full-time Project Coordinator through the West Virginia Community Development Hub.

  • Recuirted first AmeriCorps OSMRE/VISTA through the Appalachian Coal Country Team.

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