This LocalWiki page is created to share information about our community's local food system and the Watauga Food Council. Please feel free to contribute to this page and to join with us in building our local food system!
The purpose of the Watauga Food Council is to serve as an umbrella organization to coordinate and strengthen our local food system.
Our vision is a food system that:
- Is just and fair
- Builds a strong community
- Supports vibrant farms
- Nourishes healthy people
- Supports sustainable ecosystems
- Builds a thriving local economy
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Topics |
Vision |
| Food Access and Security |
All individuals of the community have access to fresh, healthy, affordable and diverse local food. |
| Promotion of Local Food System and Healthy Foods to Consumers | The public interacts with local food and farms in meaningful ways to learn about the food system. |
|
Viable Career Choices |
All individuals have the opportunity to develop viable careers within our community’s many and diverse local farm and food businesses. |
Who We Are
The Watauga Food Council is made up of a group of Watauga County residents, who are dedicated to the strengthening of our local food systems.
Sadikshya Aryal, Topic Leader
Quint David, Co-Chair
Margie Mansure, Co-Chair
Allison Jennings, Topic Leader
Maria Julian, Topic Leader
Christie Leigh, Topic Leader
Dave Walker, Topic Leader
Organizations involved: Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture,
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Anyone is welcome to join our meetings and support our efforts. For more information about how you can become involved, please contact [NOTE: Margie/Quint?]
History
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Produce grown in Watauga County[NOTE: Can do a brief organizational history... Can have a page with meeting minutes...]
The Food Council came up with a name in 2016.
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Topics
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Food Access and Security
Topic Leaders: Allison Jennings and Maria Julian
Vision: All individuals of the community have access to fresh, healthy, affordable and diverse local food.
Promotion of Local Food System and Healthy Foods to Consumers
Topic Leaders: Sadikshya Aryal and Christie Leigh
Vision: The public interacts with local food and farms in meaningful ways to learn about the food system.
Topic Leader: Dave Walker
Vision: All individuals have the opportunity to develop viable careers within our community’s many and diverse local farm and food businesses. This requires the support and resources to help farm and food entrepreneurs plan and grow their small businesses. For this to occur, we can open:
- Access to training and mentors
- Access to markets
- Access to capital
- Access to space
Resources
Resources for Individuals
Resource Handbook - Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture: (Link) A resource website that is part of a Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture project to connect farmers and gardeners in the Blue Ridge to resources and mentors that can jump start their connection to our food system. Contains information on: business planning & record keeping, markets & marketing, funding & access to capital, land access & transition, production in the high country, post-production care & food safety, equipment & supplies, finding & managing help, and the legal environment for North Carolina farmers.
Resources about Watauga County
County Profile - The Appalachian Foodshed Project: (Link) The Appalachian Foodshed Project has assembled county profiles for each county in West Virginia and theAppalachian Regional Commission (ARC) counties of western North Carolina and southwest Virginia. Each of these profiles contains data relevant to community food security, and is organized into a modified version of theWhole Measures for Community Food Systems: Healthy People, Thriving Economies, Justice and Fairness, and Vibrant Farms and Gardens.
Healthy Food Access Portal: Research Your Community - The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: (Link) Many healthy food access initiatives and funding opportunities require data-supported descriptions of a community’s needs as part of the application process. This tool provides much of the data requested and can be used to strengthen your funding application. Please note that the food access landscape is ever changing, and you may need to corroborate data indicators with local knowledge.
Resources about the High Country
Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy 2012 - High Country Council of Governments: (COG_ComprehensiveEconomicDevelopmentStrategy_2012.pdf) The strategy is an economic development planning tool intended to aid local governments in decision-making. The document provides an analysis of regional and local economic conditions within Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey Counties, NC. Specific projects have been identified that will address economic development in the High Country COG area.
Resources about Western North Carolina & North Carolina
Healthy North Carolina 2020 - The North Carolina Institute of Medicine: A Better State of Health: (Healthy North Carolina 2020: A Better State of Health.pdf) Every 10 years since 1990, North Carolina has set decennial health objectives with the goal of making North Carolina a healthier state. One of the primary aims of this objective-setting process is to mobilize the state to achieve a common set of health objectives. The Healthy NC 2020 objectives provide a common set of health indicators that we, as a state, can work to improve, while the targets assigned to each objective enable us to monitor our progress, or lack thereof, toward achieving these common health objectives.
WNC Community Food Security Assessment - The Appalachian Foodshed Project: (Link) The purpose of the WNC CFSA is to establish the scope of the problem, identify extant barriers to and assets for improving food security, and clarify key questions for communities to consider as they make long-term strides to creating a more just and equitable food system.
Future Developments for this Wiki
Add resources (categorize resources), add photos, add subpages...
