Catalyzing Agricultural and Educational Resources to Move the Local Food Value Chain Needle in the Shenandoah Valley and Northern Piedmont Regions of Virginia

The Shenandoah Valley and Northern Piedmont Regions of Virginia are fortunate to have agricultural, cultural, and educational resources to catalyze and strengthen Virginia’s food system from farm-to-table. Despite growing demand and support for local food systems, barriers to sustainable success remain for farmers and food businesses, including limited or unwieldy value chain coordination, logistical hurdles, lack of transparent market signals, and inadequate scale, match and fit between producers and buyers.Educational outreach and 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.