The Cultivating Rural Vitality in Virginia’s Food System (CRRV) project is a collaborative seed project supported by Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Virginia Cooperative Extension aimed at strengthening food system resilience across the state. We are using a participatory, multi-sector approach to engaging a network of actors across Virginia’s food system including but not limited to farmers, local policymakers, planners, researchers, Extension professionals, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector. This project is a  first step towards longer term objectives to develop an actionable plan for Virginia food system resilience. Key project activities include a statewide food systems summit and regional listening session convenings. 

Statewide Food Systems Summit

Connecting for Resilience: A Virginia Food Systems Summit: The Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and the Mid-Atlantic Food Resilience and Access Coalition will co-host a statewide summit on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm.

Summit Description: At the summit, we will share what we learned from listening sessions around the state and discuss how we may move toward a more resilient food system together. The Summit will provide an opportunity to share key insights from recent statewide listening sessions and collaboratively identify actionable strategies to advance more resilient and coordinated food systems. The Summit is designed to move us from dialogue to collective action, and will emphasize practical planning, partnership-building, and shared learning. Expect participatory dialogue and engaging activities throughout the day

Where: Blue Ridge Community College, Plecker Workforce Center. One College Lane, Weyers Cave, Virginia 24486. 

 Who should attend: The Summit will bring together a curated group of participants, assembled by our Steering Committee, who are actively engaged in or closely connected to food systems and resilience efforts in Virginia. Participants will include farmers, food system organizations, state agencies, local governments, regional planning commissions, funders, farmer organizations, Extension professionals, academic partners, and more. Due to limited funding, attendance at the summit is by invitation only. If you are interested in staying informed about future conversations and gatherings, please reach out to Lia Kelinsky-Jones at kelinskyjones@vt.edu.

Summit Schedule: 

  • 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. | Registration and continental breakfast 
  • 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Summit program with farm-to-table lunch from Lucien’s Catering
  • 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. | On-site networking reception

Steering Committee and Collaborators: A steering committee representing Mid-Atlantic Food Resilience & Access Coalition, Virginia Association for Biological Farming, Rappahannock-Rapidan Regional Commission, American Farmland Trust, Local Environmental Agriculture Project (LEAP), Virginia Fresh Match, Virginia State University, Mid-Atlantic Black Farmers Caucus, Virginia Tech, Resilient Virginia, and Dr. Kate Clancy  informed the structure of the summit. The program has been co-designed with Bob Leonard of the VT School of Performing Arts (SOPA), Jon Catherwood-Ginn of SOPA and the VT Center for Communicating Science, and Michael Rohd, an applied theater practitioner  and process design consultant. 

Listening Sessions

Listening Sessions: From 2025-2026, we hosted the following listening sessions engaging 266 people to understand current efforts, gaps, challenges, and opportunities for Virginia food system resilience. These convenings will directly inform the VA Food System Summit: 

  •  October 1, 2025 9:30 am - 1:30 pm: Listening Session & Community Meal at the Roanoke Foodshed Network All Partner Meeting. 
  • October 28, 2025 12:00 - 1:30 pm: Listening Session & Lunch at the George Washington Carver Agriculture Research Center co-hosted by the Rapidan-Rappahanock Regional Commission. 
  • November 6, 2025 11:00 am - 12:30 pm: Zoom (Virtual) Listening Session co-hosted with Virginia Fresh Match. 
  • November 10, 2025: Listening Session at the Omni Homestead in conjunction with the Virginia Association of Counties Conference. 
  • November 15, 2025 2:30 - 4:00 pm: Listening Session & Refreshments at Newport News Marriott co-hosted with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center, and the Virginia Aquaculture Conference. 
  • November 19, 2025 10:30 am - 12:00 pm Listening Session & Refreshments at the Virginia Cooperative Extension Rockingham Office. Informal lunch and networking to follow. 
  • December 16, 2025 12:00 am - 1:30 pm Listening Session & Lunch at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center. 
  • December 17, 2025 10:00 am - 11:00 am Zoom (Virtual) Listening Session co-hosted with the Virginia Funders Network. 
  • December 17, 2025 3:00 - 4:00 pm Zoom (Virtual) Listening Session co-hosted with the Fairfax County Emergency Food Strategies Team. 
  • January 10, 2026 Listening Session at the Virginia Association for Biological Farming Conference. 
  • Research: We also conducted interviews and analyzed plans to understand how other states, regions, and localities advanced participatory food system planning efforts. 

To learn more about this effort or find out how you can get involved, please contact Lia Kelinsky-Jones at kelinskyjones@vt.edu. 

This project and the summit is part of a collaborative seed initiative of Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Virginia Cooperative Extension, with additional funding and support from the Open Research Community Accelerator (ORCA) and the Farm Bureau of Virginia.

Virginia Cooperative Extension is a partnership of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and local governments, and is an equal opportunity employer. For the full non-discrimination statement, please visit ext.vt.edu/accessibility.