The Central Shenandoah Valley, population 368,000, is a large geographic area spanning 4,264 square miles in western Virginia. The region includes seven counties—Augusta, Bath, Highland, Page, Rockbridge, Rockingham, and Shenandoah—and the five independent cities of Buena Vista, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Staunton, and Waynesboro. The Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission (CSPDC) represents the governments in this area […]
The Good Food Collective (GFC) aims to build a vibrant economy, steward natural resources, and support the physical and cultural health of the Durango, Colorado area by investing in the regional food system. In collaboration with many local partners, GFC harvests otherwise wasted food to address food insecurity and keep the community free of food […]
The City of Wichita (pop’n 390,000), located in Sedgwick County, Kansas, is in the south-central part of the state. For the past 20 years, the Health and Wellness Coalition of Wichita has promoted people, programs, and policies that build a healthier community. The Coalition fosters long-term partnerships among public health, business, government, grassroots organizations, planners, […]
The Linn County Food Systems Council has ambitious goals to improve Linn County’s food system from production to consumption in order to build resilient supply chains that feed the community and stimulate economic development. The council’s primary goal is to increase access to and consumption of nutritious foods by boosting the volume and diversity of […]
The Great Plains Food Bank serves every county in North Dakota as well as western Minnesota, working with community partners to efficiently secure and direct resources and eradicate hunger in their communities. Their current operations include statewide distribution facilities based in Fargo and Bismarck, a fleet of refrigerated trucks, and several dozen staff supported by […]
The Oneida Nation is a federally recognized tribe of Oneida people, with a reservation located on 65,000 acres near Green Bay, Wisconsin. The tribe works to offer programs, services, and resources that enable the community to carry on with the strength and determination of its ancestors. The Oneida Community Integrated Food Systems group works on […]
The Whatcom Community Foundation invests in activities and organizations that improve the ability of people to help themselves, increase connections among people, and take cooperative approaches to community issues. WCF is exploring the development of a local food campus on a waterfront property that would become a multi-tenant site, anchored by a school district commissary. The goal is to strengthen Whatcom County’s local food system by promoting health equity, forging tangible strategic connections between food production organizations, and helping farmers connect with institutional markets. NVA developed the business case for this ambitious project and continues to support its development. (2021)