The Food and Agriculture Systems Working Group and the Central Appalachian Network are working together to strengthen the region’s capacity for food system development by connecting funders and practitioners within specific sub-regions and across the region. We have formed a joint working group to achieve the following:
Priorities
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Deepen Relationships
Create and deepen relationships between grantmakers and practitioners working in local food systems.
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Foster Deeper Learning & Analysis
Create and deepen relationships between grantmakers and practitioners working in local food systems.
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Leverage Resources
Increase resources within the region targeted at creating stronger local food systems.
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Enhance Connectivity
Enhance the connectivity and capacity of the region’s key food system actors.
Impact
This working group serves as a collaborative space where funders and practitioners come together as peers to share learning across the region, establish best practices, and explore collaborative opportunities. Impacts include:
- We've developed a shared analysis of critical regional issues through in-depth learning activities on topics as varied as Farm to School, Forest Farming, and the 2018 Farm Bill.
- We've conducted field-building, research and communications projects conducted on issues related to food access and nutritional health, including the report and video shown below.
- We supported planning and implementation for a $250,000 USDA Rural Community Development Initiative grant, matched with an additional $250,000 in funding from AFN members and other sources. This grant helped to build significant capacity in the local food systems of four sub-regions across Appalachia, and has leveraged over $3 million in additional follow-on funding. Read more about this project here.
Co-Chairs of the Food Systems Working Group
Hylie Voss, Sugar Bush Foundation
Amalia Mendoza, Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky
Members of the Food Systems Working Group
Food System Funders
Susan Beaudry, Osteopathic Heritage Foundation
Mary Fant Donnan, Alleghany Foundation
David Cooke, Berea College Appalachian Fund
Mary Short, USDA Rural Development TN
Lora Smith, Appalachian Impact Fund
Jeff Mansour, Thompson Charitable Foundation
Gerry Roll, Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky
Erin Prescott, Osteopathic Heritage Foundation
Marlo Long, Truist
Mary Fant Donnan, Alleghany Foundation
Amanda Eller, Emerson Collective
Bob Reeder, Rural LISC
Andrew Crosson, Invest Appalachia
Kathy Allen, Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky
Carole Pickering, The Educational Foundation of America