The Blue Ridge Plateau area of Virginia is rich with good soil, adequate rainfall, and hardworking people. Many of the people of this region have been involved in agriculture for generations. The food grown here is healthy, nutrient-dense food farmed with low amounts of pesticides, antibiotics, and chemical fertilizer. Sustainable agricultural practices are the norm for this area.
However, with the dominance of large scale, industrial food production around the world and the globalized corporate food industry, many of our local farmers are struggling to make a living. Cheap food made with massive amounts of chemicals, of poor nutritional quality, using unsustainable amounts of water and contributing to one-third of the excess carbon leading to climate change is the national norm and a national problem.
We in Southwest Virginia are prepared to lead the change toward growing an abundance of healthy food using techniques that do not contribute to climate change or to national obesity.
To do this we need to create a quality, integrated food system in our region. We have all of the needed components here but they must be supported and managed. The gaps in the system will need investment to reach the potential we have to supply food for the Mid-Atlantic and Mid-Western states where over 62 percent of the U.S. population lives and can be reached in a one-day drive.
We work with a broad community bringing together
(1) local fertile land, (2) skillful farmers, (3) government (local, state, and national), (4) local knowledge, wisdom, and entrepreneurial spirit, (5) Virginia Tech, our land grant university, and (6) a major injection of social entrepreneurial capital to create a productive and profitable LOCAL FOOD SYSTEM.
We’re in search of investments and technologies that best serve our communities and the valued lands upon which we live. Please join with us in finding new and profitable means to best use our resources while protecting them for those who follow the paths we create.
