We brought back with us to our Fayetteville, West Virginia office lots of exciting news, resources, and projects from the W.Va. Small Farm Conference at the Charleston Civic Center this past week. You will find many of them in this newsletter. Scroll cautiously! 

You'll find our very first  "Food and Farm Feature: What's going on in the field?" in the newsletter. Many more to come this growing season. Would you like to be "featured" or know of someone that would like to be/should be "featured"? Contact Evelyn Hartman at ehartman@wvfoodandfarm.org  OR Spencer Moss at smoss@wvfoodandfarm.org. 

Enjoy,

West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition
Food and Farm Feature: What's going on in the field?
"Making Farm to Institution Work at the VA Medical Center in Martinsburg, WV"
Barbara E. Hartman MS, RDN, LD Chief of Nutrition and Food Service at the VA Medical center in Martinsburg, West Virginia shares with us the Medical Center's story of procuring from local farmers and the delight farmers from the Eastern Panhandle bring to the kitchen and dining area. Read the full story here.


FOOD AND FARM EVENTS
Visit our events calendar: http://wvfoodandfarm.org/news-media/events
Grow Your Own Mushrooms Workshop 
March 5, 2016 9AM - 11AM
Concord, North Carolina

Elma C. Lomax Incubator Farm is hosting a "Grow Your Own Mushrooms" Workshop.
Whether you are interested in growing mushrooms for their exceptional taste, their nutritious value, or their commercial potential, this class will get you started. Register for the workshop here.

 
Three-Part Beginning Farmer Workshop Series in Mingo County, West Virginia

NCAT is partnering with Growing Warriors, Williamson Health and Wellness Center, and Refresh Appalachia to host a three-part beginning farmer workshop series, "Farm Foundations: Planning for Success" in Mingo County, West Virginia. This workshop series is for military veterans, socially disadvantaged farmers, and beginning farmers. Register for the first workshop on March 5, 2016 here.
WVSU Extension Service Hosting Alternative Agriculture Workshops in McDowell County

At the National Guard Armory in Welch, West Virginia on March 9th, the WV State University Extension Service is providing a free series of workshops on alternative agriculture techniques. Workshops will include information on mushroom production, aquaponics, AgrAbility, hydroponics, and cold storage. For more information and to register for the workshop click here.
Food Tank's Webinar Series Presents, "The ABCs of the GMO Debate: Do we really need GMOs to feed the world?"

On March 16th, Anna Lappe, author, educator, activist, Project Director of Food MythBusters and Real Food Media Project, and co-founder of Small Planet Institute and the Small Planet Fund will present on the issue for 30 minutes followed by a 10 to 15 minute Q&A session. Register for the webinar here.
Appalachian Conference on Social Enterprise at Marshall University in Huntington, WV on March 17th & 18th 

Join business and community leaders for an exciting exploration of business' power to do good. Do you have an idea for investing in your community and earning profit? Do you believe profit is more than the money we can make? Join us for the region's first social enterprise conference and connect with other pioneers in this powerful sector. Visit the conference website here.
National Good Food Network Food Hub 2016 Conference March 30th - April 1st 

In Atlanta, GA at the National Good Food Network 2016 Food Hub Conference over 40 workshops will be offered on the issue of food hubs. Learn about the role of food hubs in our food system, business management for food hubs, food hub models, food safety, and hear from food hubs in the Atlanta area. Learn more about the conference and register here.
Berea Gardens Center Five-Day On-Farm Training Program with Bob Gregory

In March, April, September, and October, the Berea Gardens Center is offering a Five-Day On-Farm Training Program again this year. Each course will include intensive classroom study and exposure to activities on the certified, sustainable, naturally-grown market farm located in the rolling hills of  West Virginia. The program will equip you with the knowledge and information that will allow you to grow high quality food with a maximum of efficiency. Registration costs for the course includes guest accommodations, meals and study materials. Learn more and make a reservation here.
VC2 is Hosting "Wholesale Success: Postharvest Handling On-Farm Food Safety" Workshops in April

Value Chain Cluster Initiative (VC2) is traveling to Lewisburg, Philippi, Huntington, and Kingwood to host a "Wholesale Success: Postharvest Handling On-Farm Food Safety" workshop with nationally renowned-trainer, farmer, and author Atina Diffley. For more information and to register, click the link with your respective location: Lewisburg, Huntington, Philippi, and Kingwood.
2016 Food Tank Summit in Washington, DC at American University on April 20th - 21st

The 2nd Annual Food Tank Summit will feature over 70 speakers from the food and agriculture field. Join researchers, farmers, chefs, policy makers, government officials, and students on the issues of improving nutrient density, the future of organic, nourishing the planet, investing in the food movement, legislating change in the food system, and more. Register here.
GRANT OPPORTUNITIES



Deadline: March 31, 2016


Various (Fall, Winter)

No Deadline


LOI Deadline: April 28, 2016



Deadline: March 18, 2016
JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS


No Deadline

No Deadline
 

April 1st - June 15th; June 15th - August 15th; August 15th - November 1st



No Deadline

Deadline: May 1, 2016
FOOD AND FARM RESOURCES
Visit our free library: http://wvfoodandfarm.org/resources/

The Lunch Box: Tools for School Food Change is an online resource that is dedicated to supporting school districts as 
they transition their food programs from processed foods to scratch cooking and fresh ingredients. The Lunch Box also shares best practices from around the United States. The Lunch Box includes a wide range of in-depth tools and resources such as recipes, financial management models, marketing tools, and parent engagement strategies. 

Arielle Milkman, a freelance journalist for EATER, publishes the article "The Radical Origins of Free Breakfast for Children: How the Black Panther Party and women's organizations fueled American food policy". 

Wild Farm Alliance publishes the "Co-Managing Farm Stewardship with Food Safety GAP's and Conservation Practices: A Grower's and Conservationist's Handbook" and an infographic that illustrates how a "healthy diverse ecosystem keeps pathogens in check." View the infographic and read the handbook.
FOOD AND FARM POLICY CORNER
State and National Policy Page: http://wvfoodandfarm.org/initiatives/policy/

The West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition presented three legislative issues to legislators on Tuesday, January 26th at Local Foods Day 2016 in Charleston, WV. Read more about our 2016 legislative issues in our Legislative Packet. For a legislative update, view our legislative issues update infographic here.
A leading voice in national food and agriculture policy, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, is kicking off a month of "farmer fly-ins" for farmers, ranchers, and advocates across the country to speak with legislators on Capitol Hill on the topic of four priority budgetary areas: food safety training, outreach to veteran and minority farmers, sustainable agriculture research, and farm bill conservation programs. Learn more here.
"The Dark Act Strikes Back". On Tuesday, March 1st the DARK Act passed the Senate Agriculture Committee. Sign on to the letter asking legislators to "reject Robert's DARK Act which would preempt GMO labeling laws already passed in Vermont, Connecticut, Maine, and pending legislation in 17 other states, only to replace them with weak 'voluntary' labeling." It would also make it virtually impossible for the Food and Drug Administration to ever require mandatory labeling nationwide." Sign on here. 
Support the WV Food & Farm Coalition!
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