The West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition visited the Cheat River in Albright, West Virginia for Friends of the Cheat's annual Cheat Fest this past weekend. Friends of the Cheat continues to restore, preserve, and promote the Cheat River watershed after 22 years. We would like to give a shout out and a big thank you to the work of this organization. Clean, accessible water is essential to the nourishment of our soils, plants, insects and animals, and the building of a resilient local food system in West Virginia that ultimately nourishes our communities.

As we travel across the state, we continue to grow our food and farm community that includes a diverse network of individuals and groups nursing the health of West Virginia's land, water, and air. We cherish the stories of each and every member's work and always return to home inspired and motivated to continue this work.  

In solidarity,

West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition
FOOD AND FARM EVENTS
Visit our events calendar: http://wvfoodandfarm.org/news-media/events
Putting Local on Your Menu: Menu Writing and Social Media Branding Workshop AND Live Webinar May 11th 8:30AM - 12:30PM at the HIVE in Beckley, WV

Join WVFarm2U, New River Gorge RDA, and VC2 to explore menu writing for informing your consumer and as a marketing appeal, learn to incorporate locally sourced foods in menu descriptors, engage and connect your menu to social media followers, and increase your restaurants farm to table sourcing of local food. Register here for the event. Or, participate in the live webinar here.
Click on the image to register.
West Virginia FOODLINK's Nourishing Networks: Food Access Planning Workshop on May 19-20, 2016 at West Virginia University

The workshop will address improving food access for urban and rural communities, preventing hunger, and discussing the food desert problem in WV. WV FOODLINK invites any members, nonprofit workers, health professionals, or public servants to register and attend. Click here to learn more and to register.
Try This West Virginia Conference June 3-4 at WV Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, WV

The conference is "two idea-packed, inspiring days with like-minded people from all over the state! Trade ideas, join forces. Get inspired, learn, plan your next steps. Have a great time and help roll this ball forward!" Register here.
2016 Southern Cover Crop Conference in Mount Olive and Goldsboro, North Carolina
July 18-19

The conference "will focus on cover crop research and extension priorities throughout the Southern region. Monday, July 18, will be dedicated to workshops on topics ranging from economics to nutrient management held at the University of Mount Olive. Tuesday, July 19, will be a morning of cover crop field demonstrations held at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems' 2000-acre Field Research and Outreach Facility at Cherry Farm in Goldsboro." Register here.
GRANT OPPORTUNITIES
No Deadline
Deadline: June 2, 2016

Deadline: June 24, 2016 
Deadline: June 30, 2016


Deadline: July 3, 2016
Deadline: July 3, 2016
Deadline: July 6, 2016

Deadline: October 15, 2016
JOB ANNOUNCEMENTS

To apply, email:
 farmer@rainbowhillfarm.com

No Deadline
No Deadline
FOOD AND FARM RESOURCES
Visit our free library: http://wvfoodandfarm.org/resources/




USDA AMS recently hosted a webinar on their toolkit, "The Economics of Local Food Systems: A Toolkit to Guide Community Discussions, Assessments and Choices." Click here to listen to the recorded webinar. 


Check out USGS's interactive Pesticide National Synthesis Project. Over the past 21 years, the landscape of West Virginia and most of the Appalachian Region prevented major pesticide use. Check it out here.


Purdue Extension developed FoodLink to provide consumers with a resource to instantly learn more about unfamiliar produce, including how to select, prepare, and store them. Read about it here.

UMASS Amherst is offering an online course that "examines the movement of food from seed to table. Participants in the course explore local and global food systems, and specific food related issues that impact health of communities. Among the topics we'll cover are: examining the economic and political decisions that frame our food chain, direct marketing, commercial agriculture, processing, food justice, hunger, health, food security, peak oil, school food systems and school gardens, Community Supported Agriculture, farmers' markets, small scale farming and homesteading.  At the center of this course is the examination of the opportunities and challenges required in making community food projects that create real lasting systems change." Register here.


The deadline for the Value-Added Producer Grant Program is quickly approaching. National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) created a guide to answer questions about the grant program regarding eligibility, program priorities, scoring, timeline, theme, and more. Click here to read the guide.
FOOD AND FARM POLICY CORNER
State and National Policy Page: http://wvfoodandfarm.org/initiatives/policy/
Feature Headline

First Focus Campaign for Children responds to the House Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016. To learn more and oppose the Act, sign the letter here
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The House Appropriations Committee debated the House Agriculture Appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2017 on April 19th. NSAC gives a breakdown of the bill and an understanding of what programs were funded here.
Are you a farmer in West Virginia? Are you selling value-added products with ingredients sourced from local, sustainable producers? Want to list your farm or food business in the Directory? Click the image below. 
If you have any questions or want to learn more about the Directory, 
contact Evelyn Hartman at ehartman@wvfoodandfarm.org OR (304) 877-7920. 
Support the WV Food & Farm Coalition!
Your support will further our work to make local food more viable in West Virginia.