Welcome to Buy Fresh Buy Local for the Shenandoah Valley!
Click here to download the Shenandoah Valley Buy Fresh Buy Local Food Directory
Agriculture plays an ongoing, fundamental role in the Shenandoah Valley’s community and economic health. Farming communities face growing pressures from urbanization and increasing economic and environmental challenges, which makes remaining competitive, profitable and sustainable in the global market economy all the more difficult. Increasing costs of diesel fuel, fertilizers and fossil fuel-based inputs do not help. Better linkages between farmers and consumers that promote and strengthen local and regional food systems can invigorate the Shenandoah Valley’s communities and economy and help the overall agricultural and food system become more robust.
Virginia Cooperative Extension, the Shenandoah Resource Conservation & Development Council, Harrisonburg-Rockingham Healthy Community Council, Harrisonburg Farmers’ Market, Friendly City Food Co-op, Rockbridge Grown, Valley Conservation Council, Washington and Lee University, and the Shenandoah Valley Local Food Work Group (SVLFWG) and its members have worked together to launch a Shenandoah Valley Buy Fresh Buy Local chapter and consumer education effort to promote local farming and make it possible for Shenandoah Valley area consumers to buy more locally grown food and build these linkages.
As part of the effort, we plan to publish a Shenandoah Valley Buy Fresh Buy Local Food Guide that will list local producers, community supported agriculture (CSAs), orchards, farmers markets, produce auctions, grocers/retailers, institutions, and restaurants.
Look for the Shenandoah Valley Buy Fresh Buy Local Guide in June 2008!
Through this effort, we hope to:
- Strengthen the local food and farm economy in the Shenandoah Valley area,
- Connect institutional food buyers to nearby farms and processors,
- Foster a growing relationship among consumers, grocers, meat processors, restaurant owners, dining service staff, farmers, local government, and economic development officials, and
- Assist local independent food and farm businesses better communicate their positive impacts on the local economy.
Please also visit the Virginia Buy Fresh Buy Local website at www.buylocalvirginia.org for more information about the Buy Fresh Buy Local work in Virginia and an opportunity to list your farm, community supported agriculture (CSAs), orchard, farmers market, produce auction, grocery, retailer business, institution, and restaurant on-line.
For more information about the Shenandoah Valley Buy Fresh Buy Local chapter or questions about ways to support the chapter contact:
Eric S. Bendfeldt
Area Specialist, Community Viability
Virginia Cooperative Extension
2322 Blue Stone Hills Drive, Suite 140
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22801
Phone: (540) 432-6029
Fax: (540) 432-6251
Email: ebendfel@vt.edu
Website: www.ext.vt.edu
Kathy Holm
Coordinator
Shenandoah Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council
P.O. Box 60
Verona, VA 24482
Phone: (540) 248-3321
Fax: (540) 248-5502
Email: kathy.holm@va.usda.gov
Website: www.shenandoahrcd.org
Funds were generously granted to Virginia Cooperative Extension from the Shenandoah Resource Conservation
and
Development (RC&D) Council for a Shenandoah Valley Food, Farm, and Community initiative and the development
of a Buy Fresh Buy Local Shenandoah Valley chapter. For more information about the Shenandoah RC&D and its mission,
please visit their website at www.shenandoahrcd.org .
