The Roanoke Foodshed Network receives $800,000 grant for food systems

ROANOKE, Va. ( WFXR ) – The Roanoke Foodshed Network ( RFN ) has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service ( USDA AMS ).

The $800,000 grant is for the launch of the "Strong Food and Farm Future" project which includes more than 50 partners including community groups, nonprofit organizations, farmers, food businesses, community members, higher education institutions, and government agencies.

The RFN is working to bring equitable and resilient food and farm systems to the Southwest Virginia region including Roanoke City, Salem City, and Roanoke, Botetourt, Bedford, Franklin, Floyd, Montgomery, and Craig counties.

The funding will also allow the launch of a unified marketing/storytelling campaign. It also includes a Regional Food and Farming Website, the Roanoke Region Food and Farm Trail, and multimedia content, narrative s, podcasts, and a documentary short.

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Partners from across the region will be brought together for the marketing campaign including Live Work Eat Grow (Montgomery), SustainFloyd (Floyd), and Land and Table (Lynchburg region).

Jackie Crenshaw , Board President of SustainFloyd, said "SustainFloyd is very grateful for this grant funding to continue development of a resilient local food system in Floyd County. The grant will help us expand our fledgling Floyd Farm Trail, an innovative and engaging platform to bridge the gap between our hardworking small-scale farmers and agritourism experiences for customers."

This project will also help support regional farmers. The Virginia Association for Biological Farming (VABF), a leading RFN partner, will produce farmer education programs, farm tours, farmer listening sessions, and a regional food and farm summit.

According to Becki DeRusseau , VABF's Operations Manager , "Being part of the RFN helps VABF better reach and support farmers in the Roanoke region. We are so excited to be a part of this project as it will bolster our programming and capacity to support farm viability in the Roanoke region."

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According to One Valley's Secretary, Gene Yagow , "This project will support One Valley's goal of building an inclusive community in Northwest Roanoke through enhanced planning, advertising, program support, guest speakers, and staffing of our monthly Community Conversations program."

Through the Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP) Program, the USDA AMS will be awarding $5.2 million to a total of 10 partnerships across 10 states. The RFSP supports the partnership between public and private resources to work together to plan and create local or regional food systems.

This will be a three-year project from December 2024 to September 2027. For updates on the project visit Roanokefoodshednetwork.org or email Mo McGonagle at .