1. Appalachian Funders Network
Established Local Food System
June 7, 2011
Presenters: Michelle Decker,
Kathlyn Terry and Leslie Schaller

2. Central Appalachian Network
CAN is a network of sustainable economic
development organizations working to build a more
just and sustainable Appalachia.
CAN works to advance the economic transition of the
region by fostering the development of enterprises,
organizations, and policies that promote and protect
the health of our local economies, communities, and
environment.

3. Today we will….
 Animate the food value chain of a mature model
 Highlight the impacts of the wealth creation
indicators in Central Appalachia
 Review the crucial role processing, aggregation
and distribution plays in economic impact of local
foods
 Emphasize the power of networks for branding,
training and shared assets
 Identify issues & gaps of mature value chains

4. Passion for Local Food Economies
We hope to leave you with a sense of possibility
and excitement for this work as part of the
Appalachian Transition!

5. CAN’s Current Sub-regions of Focus

6. CAN Member Organizations
CAN is led by a Steering Committee of six member organizations:
 Appalachian Center for Economic Networks (ACEnet)
Athens, OH
 Appalachian Sustainable Development (ASD) Abingdon, VA
 Center for Economic Options (CEO) Charleston, WV
 Mountain Association for Community Economic
Development (MACED) Berea, KY
 Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIF) Shepherdstown, WV
 Rural Action, Trimble, OH

7. CAN’s Local Food Systems Work
 CAN member organizations approach sustainable
economic development from a variety of sectors
 Our current focus as a network is on the
development of local food value chains
 We use the wealth creation framework as an
assessment, planning, and measurement tool for
this work

8. What is the wealth
creation framework?
 A systems approach to creating wealth that
sticks in rural areas
 Emphasizes local ownership and control of
resources
 Facilitates the development of multiple forms of
wealth simultaneously

9. The Seven Forms of Wealth
• Individual
• Social
• Intellectual
• Natural
• Built
• Political
• Financial

10. 2 Year CAN WCI Highlights
 Members worked with 96 producers who sold $3.5
million of local food into wholesale markets
 Over 30 new producers brought into wholesale
markets
 Increased the value of sales of local food to wholesale
markets to $4,754,180.54 or 33%
 The number of acres being sustainably farmed by CAN
producers increased 177% between 2009 and 2010

11. WCI as a tool for reinventing
healthy local food systems
 Learning how measurement informs
interventions along the food value chain
 Understanding gaps and disconnects
 Building collaborations and leveraging
shared assets

12. Traditional Supply Chain
Production Processing Distribution Marketing Consumption
Traditional Supply Chains: push supply to the next node in the chain

13. Making a supply chain—a value chain

14. A Mature Local Food Chain has…
 Sustainable and diversified agriculture
 Farmers and food producers utilizing multiple
market channels
 Production ready to scale
 Seeded consumer demand through consumer
education, branding & market partnerships
 Food infrastructure & distribution in place

15. Southeastern Ohio Region

16. Southwest Virginia Region

17. Production

18. Production Innovators

19. Production scaling
requires new
models for PAD

20. Impact of Aggregation,
Processing and Distribution
Models from the Region
 ACEnet Food Ventures Center &
Services
 ASD --- Appalachian Harvest
 Rural Action – The Chesterhill
Produce Auction

21. Aggregation

22. Central aggregation & branding

23. Aggregation

25. Climate controlled warehousing

26. Figuring out appropriate equipment scale

27. Publicly supported investment

28. • Supported by RA since
2004
• Purchased in 2010 for
$100,000 with public –
private investment
• CPA: A Rural Appalachian
Case History, at
www.ohiofoodshed.org/
newsfromthefoodshed

30. Aggregation

32. What is a Produce Auction?
A wholesale venue supplied with
fresh fruits and vegetables by local
growers and sold through
competitive bidding.

33. Meeting demand and creating markets
Buyers - providing a higher quality Consumers - The opportunity to
of fresh product packed and ready purchase the freshest Ohio produce
for resale. available.

34. What sells?

35. What sells?
• Fresh grown fruits
• Vegetables
• Bedding plants,
flowers
• Handcrafted items
• Baked goods
• Eggs
• Herbs
• Grains

36. Seasonality
Produce Auctions are run during the growing
season.
• Any one who would like to buy or sell is invited to
participate.
• Rules and regulations are set for those who
intend to buy or sell.
 For more detail go to Homerville Wholesale Produce
Auction Guidebook,
http://www.hightunnels.org/ForGrowers/Marketing&Ec
onomics/HomervilleAuctionImages/HPA_Guidebook.pdf

37. Benefits of a Produce Auction
Ohio University Began Purchasing from CPA in 2007

38. Location of CPA Buyers & Sellers 2009
Number
of buyers
and
sellers
doubled
in 2010!

40. Processing

41. Shared Processing Facility

42. Processing Fresh Produce

43. Prepared Foods Production

44. Thermal Processing

45. Scale & Efficiencies

46. Access to Wholesale Markets

47. Workforce Development

48. Job Creation

49. Distribution

50. Distribution early stage

51. Regional
Distribution

52. Buyer Dock Times
 Produce Source Partners: M-F 7 AM to 4
PM, Sat/Sun 7 AM – 2 PM
 Ingles: 4AM to 1030 AM
 Earth Fare: 8 AM to 4 AM
 Whole Food South: 4 AM – 10 AM, none on
Wednesday

53. DOT- HOURS-OF-SERVICE RULES
for Property-Carrying CMV Drivers
• 11-Hour Driving Limit
May drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty.
• 14-Hour Limit
May not drive beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty,
following 10 consecutive hours off duty. Off-duty time does not extend
the 14-hour period.
• 60/70-Hour On-Duty Limit
May not drive after 60/70 hours on duty in 7/8 consecutive days. A
driver may restart a 7/8 consecutive day period after taking 34 or more
consecutive hours off duty.
• Sleeper Berth Provision
Drivers using the sleeper berth provision must take at least 8
consecutive hours in the sleeper berth, plus a separate 2 consecutive
hours either in the sleeper berth, off duty, or any combination of the
two.

54. Cost Containment
Full Trucks
Backhauling
Buying/Re-Selling

55. Appalachian Harvest
Distribution Flow
Produce Richmond,
Source VA
Partners
Asheville,
Leading Green
NC Area
Backhaul
Produce to
Resell
Ingles
Receive
Haul AH
produce and Earth
products for Fare
Deliver
AH resale
Produce
Deadhead
Appalachian Harvest Whole
Packinghouse Foods
Duffield, VA Atlanta, GA

56. Appalachian Harvest
2010 Revenue > $685K
Employs 10-15 laborers and truck drivers in
the peak season
Works with 50-60 farmers within the
immediate area and over 100 in the region
Covered distribution costs in 2010 through a
combination of backhauling, brokering and
‘traditional’ sales

57. Distribution Infrastructure

58. Marketing

59. How is food access measured?
Physical Accessibility
– 24% or 475,095 of rural Ohio households do not live within a 10-minute
drive of a retail grocery store of any size
– 75% of rural Ohio households live greater than a 1-mile walk to a
grocery store…4% (59,389 rural Ohioan households) do not own a car.
Economical Accessibility
– 71% of rural Ohio households live outside areas of competition
Nutritional Accessibility
– “It is hypothesized that the relative lack of access to full-service
grocery stores and the easier access to fast and convenience foods
may be linked to poor diets and, ultimately, to obesity and other diet-
related diseases.” (USDA ERS, 2009)

60. Food Deserts
As Defined in 2008 Farm Bill
A food desert is an “area with limited access to affordable
and nutritious food, particularly such an area composed of
predominantly lower income neighborhoods and
communities” (Title VI, Sec. 7527”).

61. Country Fresh Stops
• MAP

62. Country Fresh Stops
Funding will offer interested businesses help with:
– Nutritional Education
– Advertising and promotional items
– Painting, shelving, and store updates
– Refrigeration
– Fruit and vegetable delivery through the Chesterhill
Produce Auction and other local growers
Laura Jane Musser Fund and Ohio Department of Ag
– Specialty Crop Initiative

63. Stockport
Chesterhill
Chauncey
City of Athens
Reedsville
Rutland
Current Locations

64. Chauncey pics – CeeDee mart

65. County Economic Classification
Location MORGAN ATHENS MEIGS U.S.
Three-Year Average Unemployment
9.6% 6.2% 9.1% 5.0%
Rate, 2006–2008
Per Capita Market Income, 2007 $13,958 $17,478 $15,102 $32,930
Poverty Rate, 2000 18.4% 27.4% 19.8% 12.4%
Three-Year Avg. Unemp. Rate,
191.0% 123.0% 181.4% 100.0%
Percent of U.S. Avg., 2006–2008
Per Capita Market Income, Percent
42.4% 53.1% 45.9& 100.0%
of U.S. Average, 2007
Poverty Rate, Percent of U.S.
148.8% 221.0% 159.9& 100.0%
Average, 2000
Appalachian Regional Commission 2011

66. Country Fresh Stops
Funding is providing:
 Nutritional Education
 Advertising and promotional items
 Painting, shelving, and store updates
 Refrigeration
 Fruit and vegetable delivery through the
Chesterhill Produce Auction and other local growers
 Reach 1500 new customers
Laura Jane Musser Fund and Ohio Department of Ag – Specialty
Crop Initiative

67. Market Partnerships

68. Market Partnerships

69. Market Partnerships

70. Regional Brands

71. Preparation

72. Local Restaurants use local ingredients

73. Local Producers &
Market Partners
tell the story of the
value chain

74. Youth Initiatives for Food Literacy

75. Consumption

76. Market Partners & Consumers
 Drive demand
 Educate consumers
 Create excitement

78. Private Support & Investment
 Whole Foods provide
producer loans
 Regional partners:
NCIF & MACED can
assist with expansion
loans

79. Investment Partners

80. Measurement and Tracking
Producer Measures • Amount of Sales to Wholesale Buyers
• Profitability • Buyer Retention
• Revenue
• Number of Producers Training and Education Measures
• Producer Retention Rates • Number and Type of Technical Assistance Provided
• Number of Products Grown/Produced • Training Attendance
• Number of Acres by Level of Sustainability • Impact of Training and Technical Assistance (Follow Up
• Gross Sales & Gross Sales within 3 hours Evaluations)
• Gross Sales Paid to Growers • Number of National and Regional Outreach/Presentations
• Number of Youth Engaged in Farming
• Number of Minorities and Women in Farming Value Chain Measures
• Pounds of Food Donated • Number, Diversity, and Strength of Relationships within the
• Market Access Value Chain
• Division of Sales by Market • Number and Type of Shared-Use Infrastructure Available in
• On-Farm Infrastructure: Existing Infrastructure and the Value Chain
Infrastructure Needs • Number and Type of Opportunities for Building and Utilizing
Political Capital Available to Members of the Value Chain
Buyer/Customer Measures
• Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program Dollars Spent
• Markets Accepting EBT
• Dollars Spent at Markets on EBT
• Number and Type of Wholesale Buyers

81. Barriers and issues ---
not everything works out the way you think!

82. Barriers & Issues
 Scale
 Capacity --- human, financial, analytical, time
 Time – long haul view
 Flexibility to experiment
 Tension between social enterprises & non-profit goals
 Funding trend shifts
 Higher entry cost for market and distribution access

83. Focus on Infrastructure
 Capital from private and public sources to reorganize
food production, processing and distribution
 Program financial support and partnerships to creates
a “food value chain” which engages all stakeholders in
a just food system
 Corporate partners in the value chain need to invest
with seed capital/equity and go beyond loans and
purchase orders

84. Focus on access to markets
 Food safety and market readiness training for
scale
 Support for regional brands (entrepreneurs,
market partners, funders, citizen eaters)
 New delivery and distribution partnerships
 Non-traditional partners driving consumer demand
and educational campaigns

85. Focus on capital products
 Slow money, new mechanisms for angel
investment
 Local money for local economies: local stock
exchanges, local currencies, cooperative
ownership, coop hybridization
 New investment and debt products

86. Policy Education
 Webinars
Farm Bill
Food safety
Sub-regional
producer education

87. Farm Bill Reauthorization
working with National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
(NSAC)
 huge budget cuts to critical programs
 Beginning Farmer & Rancher Program
 Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
 Value-Added Producer Grants
 Rural Micro-Entrepreneur Assistance Program
 Rural Conservation & Development

88. What You Can Do
 ensure Appalachian voices are heard
advocate for programs to help small farmers,
not agribusiness
 support local work

89. Resources
Central Appalachian Network:
www.cannetwork.org
Center for Economic Options:
www.centerforeconomicoptions.org
Natural Capital Investment Fund:
www.ncifund.org
Mountain Association for Community Economic
Development: www.maced.org

90. Resources
Appalachian Sustainable Development:
www.asdevelop.org
Appalachian Center for Economic Networks:
www.acenetworks.org
Rural Action: www.ruralaction.org
Mountain Association for Community Economic
Development: www.maced.org