Events and Speakers

Well-being is associated with welfare policies, and it is often argued that the effectiveness of a policy is tied to a community’s endowment of assets. Despite growing research on social and natural capital, assets can be hard to quantify and the conceptualization and use of cultural capital in community development remains underdeveloped. In this talk, Pratyoosh will discuss an ongoing study to 1) develop multi-dimensional indicators of cultural capital, and 2) empirically test their associations with the adoption of food systems policies. By systematically quantifying indicators of cultural capital using publicly available data, the study aims to create measures that can be updated and augmented periodically and be accessible to all for informing community development. Pratyoosh is presenting on behalf of his collaborators Becca Jablonski (Visiting Associate Professor, Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University) and John Bovay (Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech).

Join us for a deep dive where we go beyond the basics to share the latest research, technical resources, and real life silvopasture examples. Learn from experienced farmers and natural resource professionals. You‘ll be guided through hands on design activities to put learning into practice, and leave with a greater ability to support landowners with silvopasture technical assistance. An online silvopasture course is available for free to all registrants. This introductory online course OR participation in the Silvopasture Fundamentals training held last year is a required prerequisite to help prepare you for this more advanced training. Date: October 24-25, 2024 Time: Day 1 is 10:00 am - 5:00 pm; Day 2 is 9:00 am - 4:00 pm Location: Virginia Tech Catawba Sustainability Center, 4965 Catawba Creek Rd, Catawba, VA

The Food Moments exhibit is hosted by the VT Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation and features the work of artist Pat Augsburger and Food Anthropologist Phyllis Ressler. We hope you find a time to enjoy the exhibit while it is up! Running September 26 - October 9, 2024 Location: Virginia Tech Creativity and Innovation District Building, Main Floor (185 Kent St. Blacksburg, Virginia)

We are excited to celebrate our 5-year anniversary with you. Please join us to honor our partners and projects and look to the next five years of food systems programming, research, and collaborations. Light refreshments will be served to enjoy as you take in the Food Moments exhibit. Thursday, September 26, 2024 4:00 - 6:00 pm Virginia Tech Creativity and Innovation District Building, Main Floor 185 Kent St. Blacksburg, Virginia

In this session, Amyrose Foll of Virginia Free Farm and Flagship Food Rescue US Richmond Hub will discuss the preservation of culturally significant seeds and their connections to perseverance and to Native American Foodways. Amyrose will share about how planting a seed is a sacred way for a hungry soul to walk the path back to our ancestors, and reconnect with the Earth. Each seed is a gift in our hands because of the generations of farmers before us who held the ancestors of that seed.

Join us and learn about the principles, practices, design tools, and historical context of agroforestry in Virginia. Hear from farmers and natural resource professionals about their experience establishing and managing agroforestry systems in Virginia. Get to participate in hands on activities in a forest farmed mushroom demonstration. You'll leave with a greater understanding of agroforestry and ways you can support your clients with these practices. Date: September 17, 2024 Time: 9:00-4:30 pm Location: Virginia State University's Randolph Farm, 4415 River Rd, Petersburg, VA

The protection, conservation, and regeneration of soil and water resources continues to be extremely important. Understanding farmers’ and ranchers’ agroecological values and their stories are critical for creating resilient ecosystems and profitable agricultural systems. Virginia Tech’s Center for Food System and Community Transformation, in collaboration with National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), USDA-Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and community partners, invite you to participate in the upcoming Soil for Water Virtual Forums on August 13, 15, and 20 to hear and learn from the varied stories and dynamic experiences of nine Virginia farmers and ranchers.

Join for a day at Oatlands to support healthy soils and water by bringing our circles together and amplifying Indigenous perspectives. We will hear from three Indigenous women leaders, Dr. Lyla June Johnston, Rene’ Locklear White, and Victoria Persinger Ferguson, who will share about Indigenous land management and foodways that support soil and water health. Each speaker will present their work and then they will engage in dialogue with one another and the audience, in a cross cultural exploration. Family friendly activities and networking will follow with educational and resource booths on soil and water stewardship available to explore.

In this session, students and faculty will reflect on their recent experience participating and leading an international experiential learning opportunity to South Africa focusing on the interface of agroecology, food security, and sustainable development. The session will discuss the interdisciplinary and participatory nature of the course and how the unique, community-partner course design provided opportunities for critical exploration of the realities of urban and rural food security and land use in South Africa. Student presenters will also reflect on their experience working with community partners and their specific projects throughout the semester-long course, and their perceptions after visiting each community partners’ projects.

In coordination with the Global Education Office, the VT Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation is hosting a roundtable discussion with scholar and international development practitioner, Varkey George, founder of Oshun South Africa. Well-known for his public scholarship, study abroad programming, and community development initiatives across South Africa, Varkey’s interests focus on global citizenship, poverty alleviation, and social entrepreneurship with partners worldwide. Through Oshun South Africa, Varkey recently collaborated with Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to hold an winter session experimental learning study abroad program in South Africa. All graduate students and faculty are welcome to join Varkey George in a roundtable discussion hosted by the Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation to be held in the GLC on April 3rd, 12 to 1:30 pm. Lunchtime refreshments will be provided. To confirm your participation, please complete RSVP form: https://forms.office.com/r/3XBF5fZAi2. If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact David Smilnak at davids21@vt.edu 540-231-4582 during regular business hours at least 10 days prior to the event. Email davids21@vt.edu for details. Virginia Cooperative Extension is a partnership of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments. Its programs and employment are open to all, regardless of age, color, disability, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, military status, or any other basis protected by law.

The presentation will discuss how a movement of cultural revitalization began with ancestral seeds and evolved to bring about a resurgence of traditional food practices and lifeways that have fostered Yesá community identity and belonging through language and cultural learning. Yesá refers to “the people” of Eastern Siouan communities descended from the Monacan Alliance, whose ancestral territories spanned throughout the Appalachian piedmont, ridge and valley, and mountains from the falls lines in Richmond, Virginia, west into West Virginia and south into North Carolina. The talk will provide both a historical perspective of Yesá food practices and how they shaped the landscapes of this region as well as examine the current experiences of Yesá communities that are fighting to reclaim and protect sacred places, seeds, and the traditions that connect them to their ancestral homelands for future generations.

Responsible innovation can be helpful in the realm of developing climate-smart farming tools. However, to achieve the benefits of these innovations for the public interest and for scaling up, it is imperative to cultivate trust among a range of actors and organizations across the food system value chain. This trust-building process necessitates the development of transparent pathways for converting raw data into actionable insights, a task that involves farmers, technology providers, and policymakers navigating complex and often competing policy landscapes. This presentation presents methods and ideas for co-designing innovative smart farming tools, including artificial intelligence-based decision support systems and sensor-driven performance-based incentives designed to govern the environment and promote sustainable farming practices.