Aug. 2nd.
Gardens in Floyd and South Magoffin counties are doing well
although it is interesting how the wet weather has been beneficial to some of
us and a bother to others. Some of our families are getting a pretty good crop
of beans but most have beautiful vines and very few beans. Corn is another crop
that some families are doing well with but most, not so much. The good news is
that the Floyd County Farmer’s Market has opened up and the farmer’s who have
had good corn crops are bringing it in. The FCFM has a local only policy which
for them means Floyd and neighboring counties only. No Tennessee corn at the
FCFM. Todd Howard, the market manager, said that the producer members of the
Market decided they wanted to grow the local economy with a local only policy.
St. Vincent Mission’s Grow Appalachia program is a big
supporter of “Buy Local” and has been working with other individuals and
organizations on developing the East Kentucky Local Food Systems Collaborative.
The
mission of the East Kentucky Local Food Systems Collaborative is be a hub to
collaborate, build, strengthen and support the eastern Kentucky food system
through: information sharing, promoting, education, advocating for policy
change, building markets for eastern Kentucky products.
In my opinion, EKLFSC is a great way to help the Grow
Appalachia families and farmers begin moving into John Paul’s “phase two”. In
fact, I know that several of the current Grow Appalachia programs have already
plugged in to this resource. The movement of the collaborative has stalled in
recent months but another gathering has been scheduled to reestablish and revitalize
the movement. The gathering will be August 23rd at the Knott County
Extension Office in Hindman. If you can come, please RSVP to Alexa Arnold of
CFA at alexa@cfaky.org so she can
tell the caterer. You can also check out the website at www.appalfoods.org for some history of the
group and other resources. And you can copy the flyer on this post and pass it
along to anyone in your area-farmers, teachers, restaurant owners, and hospital
administrators-anyone who might be interested in building a healthy food system
in eastern Kentucky.
Here’s
the flyer. Hope to see you there. Sr. KC.
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