Equitable Food Value Chain Coordination
This ongoing programming initiative seeks to catalyze equitable food value chain coordination and food system development across Virginia to increase local and regional market access of small and mid-sized farms and food businesses, such as produce auctions, food hubs, food and farm cooperatives, farm stands/markets, aggregators, and distributors. A number of barriers exist for farmers and food businesses, including limited value chain coordination, logistical hurdles, lack of transparent market signals, and inadequate scale, match and fit between producers and buyers. In addition to improving value chain coordination of Virginia’s local and regional foods, this initiative seeks to advance equitable producer-buyer relationships, enhance procurement of local foods by schools, universities, and institutions, while also supporting and promoting ecological, social, and economic values from farm-to-table needed for all individuals and communities to thrive.
Through the years, educational programming around value chain coordination has included: a Farm2Fork Affair and ongoing producer-buyer networking, Virginia Market Readiness Farm to Restaurant Workshops, On-farm Food Safety Walkthroughs, exploring a Soil Health Awareness/Action Campaign, and expanding the scope of the Shenandoah Valley and Northern Piedmont Buy Fresh Buy Local chapters in coordination with Virginia Market Maker.
In all, this programming initiative aims to:
- Increase promotion and access of small and mid-sized farms and food businesses to appropriate market channels
- Advance producer-buyer relationships through directed promotion, educational training, concentrated vetting, and networking activities specific to scale
- Enhance the equitable distribution and delivery of local foods from farm to schools, universities, and institutions across the state
- Measure potential for market differentiation based on soil health and water quality farming practices
- Evaluate gains in market access, share, and logistics of regional and statewide value chain coordination.
Video Series
The Story of the Food Value Chain
Do you know where your food comes from? The food value chain is often not very transparent or easy to define. This short food value chain video about the potato chip explains the relationships and values needed and aligned to make a full circle farm to table connection.
Caring for Our Communities and Land
A Story of Healthy Relationships and Trust features the story of Shenandoah Valley Family Farms and how farmers built relationships with their distributor, retailers, and customer base through shared values and trust to market their eggs, milk, and cheese throughout Virginia. We specifically thank Shenandoah Valley Family Farms, Mountain Branch Creamery, Wadels Farm Wagon, Friendly City Food Cooperative, and the Resslers for participating in this production.
Bringing Apples to Life
How do you like to eat an apple? Bringing Apples to Life: A Story of Perseverance, Collaboration, and Innovation features how Virginia apple growers and cider-makers bring apples to life and how their businesses continue to evolve to meet market demand and adapt to emergent opportunities. Special thanks to Adam’s Apples and Herbs, Glaize Apples, Marker-Miller Orchards Farm Market, Old Town Cidery, Rinker’s Apple Cider, and Woodbine Farm Market for participating in this video production.
For the Love of the Chip
Learn about the relationships and values of Route 11 Potato Chips, Valley Farming, LLC., Valley Pike Farm Market, and J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works as an example of a food value chain. Virginia Tech and Virginia Cooperative Extension thank Sarah Cohen of Route 11 Potato Chips, Clifford Rohrer of Valley Farming, LLC., David Gardner of Valley Pike Farm Market, and Nancy Bruns of J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works for participating in this production.
Against the Grain, Beyond the Grind
Today, Virginia farmers face many challenges and opportunities. Sometimes you have to go against the grain and beyond the grind to overcome challenges and realize new opportunities. Against the Grain, Beyond the Grind is a story about one of Virginia's grain to flour food value chains. The story outlines farm-to-table connections from local soils and farms to a local stone-ground mill and local bakery and how food eventually makes its way to local tables.
The video, along with four accompanying videos, was created to showcase the Virginia grain to flour food value chain as part of a USDA-AMS Local Food Promotion Program grant. Virginia Tech and Virginia Cooperative Extension thank Cedar Heights Farm, Common Grain Alliance, Deep Roots Milling at Woodson's Mill, Grazeland Dairy, and Mill Song Bakery for participating in this video case study and production.
Project partners include: Virginia Tech’s (VT) Community, Local, and Regional Food Systems (CLRFS) Team, the Virginia Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coalition (VBFRC), Virginia Fresh Produce Food Safety Team, the Agua Fund Inc., Virginia USDA-NRCS, Shenandoah Valley Produce Auction, Shenandoah Food, Wadel’s Farm Wagon, The Local Food Hub, and Future Harvest-Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture (FH-CASA).