Plot to Pantry: Propelling Farmer-Driven Value-Added Production

Project Overview

ONE24-453
Project Type: Partnership
Funds awarded in 2024: $29,825.00
Projected End Date: 11/30/2025
Grant Recipient: West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition
Region: Northeast
State: West Virginia
Project Leader:
Spencer Moss
Email
West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition

Information Products

Commodities

Not commodity specific

Practices

  • Education and Training: mentoring, technical assistance
  • Farm Business Management: marketing management, value added
  • Production Systems: aquaponics
  • Sustainable Communities: local and regional food systems, partnerships

    Proposal abstract:

    "Plot to Pantry" enhances farm viability and profitability by providing necessary technical assistance for partners to create a value and supply chain for value-added products that farmers are either producing themselves OR gaining process authority and co-packed products. "Plot to Pantry” will: 

    1: Provide tailored technical assistance to three farmer value-added producers to enhance their marketing strategies, assist in developing labels, and/or ensure compliance with food safety and regulatory requirements.

    2: Provide an expert technical assistance coach to Blue Acre Appalachian Aquaponics, to support the facility with technical assistance in developing and implementing a efficiency plan that has been outlined through previous consultation.

    3: Partners with Mountain State Co-Hops, a co-opertive of farmers and farmer value-added makers to create and implement logics for aggregating and distribute farmer-made value-added products.

    By bridging the gap between farm and consumer, Plot to Pantry fosters economic resilience within rural communities across West Virginia. Through facilitating the scaling/development, aggregation, and distribution of farm-grown value-added products, the project enhances food systems and reduces food waste.

    This project seeks to provide technical assistance to farmer value-added producers, Blue Acre Appalachian Aquaponics, and the Mountain State Co-Hops Cooperative. The ultimate project goal incorporates the knowledge derived from this project into a presentation at the West Virginia Small Farms Conference designed to assist farmers in producing or scaling value-added products from their harvests.

    Project objectives from proposal:

    This project seeks to provide technical assistance to farmer value-added producers, Blue Acre Appalachian Aquaponics, and the Mountain State Co-Hops Cooperative. The ultimate project goal incorporates the knowledge derived from this project into a presentation at the West Virginia Small Farms Conference designed to assist farmers in producing or scaling value-added products from their harvests. 

    Objective 1: Provide tailored technical assistance and training to three farmer value-added producers to enhance their marketing strategies, assist in developing labels, and ensure compliance with food safety and regulatory requirements.

    Objective 2: Provide an expert technical assistance coach to Blue Acre Appalachian Aquaponics, to support the facility in operations management and provide technical assistance in aquaculture, horticulture, and aquaponics in order to ensure long term farm viability.  

    Objective 3: Provide training support to members of Mountain State Co-Hops Co-operative to undergo training and develop the aggregation and distribution of farm-grown value-added products in partnership with PCAP who will provide a technical service provider.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.