SOAR STRATEGY SUMMITMay 11, 2015

COMMUNITY FARM ALLIANCE30 Years of Change From The Ground Up!

www.cfaky.org

From 30 years of experience Community Farm Alliance members have learned that permanent, positive change begins with community dialogue, is built on successful models, and secured with good public policy.

For long-term development we must build the entire value-chain by:

•Increasing production through supporting new and beginning farmers.•Creating reliable, scalable markets, accessible to every farmer (regardless of size) and to all economic classes.•Support entrepreneurs to build and bridge gaps.•Educate about the economic, health and social impacts to:

• build demand, support public policy, and the career viability of farming and food entrepreneurship.

EKY Food System Collaborativewww.appalfoods.org

Farmers Markets provide an important gateway to accessing the freshest, most nutritious food, building a local food system, and to improving the community economy.

Farmers markets also provide a retail market for small-scale and beginning farmers and can be a food hub for aggregating and distributing to restaurants, farm to school programs, institutions, wholesalers and regional distributors.

COMMUNITY FARM ALLIANCE2014 FARMERS MARKET SUPPORT PROGRAM

In 2014

•Six markets represented 97 farmers from 22 counties, including farmers from 6 of the 8 Promise Zone Counties.

•Total sales at the markets grew to $223,762 - a 125% increase

•Average of 16% of sales attributed to SNAP/WIC/SFMN sales

Priorities:•The development of institutional markets, particularly public schools •The development of local aggregation and distribution, particularly farmers markets as a network capable of regional distribution.

COMMUNITY FARM ALLIANCEEASTERN KENTUCKY FARM TO TABLE

In 2014•Face to Food Local Food Crawl in Hazard•Negotiated a shipping route and $12,000 in sales from the Chop Shop to local restaurants•Work with Perry, Breathitt and Letcher County School Districts, and Custom Food Solutions to provide Kentucky sweet potatoes and butternut squash through Gordon’s Food Service to 10,000 children. •CFA coordinated the Knott County Farmers Market to provide the Perry County School system with 3,000 servings of sweet corn, 750 lbs of tomatoes, and 8,000 servings of watermelon.

PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATION

New Funding commitments of $400,000 for 2015-2016

Tells the story of how local food and farming in Eastern Kentucky can contribute to a bright future in the mountains.

http://cfaky.org/breaking-beans/

Breaking Beans: The Appalachian Food Story Project - feeding our future in Eastern Kentucky

Media•Morning Ag Clips, shared article, November 16,•2014 Kentucky Promise Zone, November 2014•Floyd Co. Times, January 8, 2015•Grow Appalachia, January 15, 2015•AppalachianTransition.org, January 20, 2015•Central Appalachian Network, February 3, 2015•Local Harvest, Feb 10, 2015

The Letcher Co. Farmers Market: 1st Summer Feeding Program site in Kentucky3rd in the Nation!

Eastern Kentuckians are Innovators!

Began serving children fresh local meals in June feeding between 20 – 30 children each week items such as fresh eggs and fruit smoothies. July 30, the final day of the SFP, the market served 73 children.Mountain Comprehensive Care stepped up to continue providing children the free meals through the end of the market season in October. Over the five months of the program the Letcher Co. market provided free meals to 487 children.