On average, one in six people in the High Country are food insecure, despite the deep agricultural roots in the region and abundance of locally produced food. Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture (BRWIA) operates a Local Food as Medicine program which helps bridge this gap by redistributing healthy, local food to those most in need, while also providing a new market channel for local farmers and producers.
Local Food As Medicine(LocalFAM) is a grant-funded food access program, which enables community organizations to provide their neighbors with fresh, nutritious food, supplied by local producers. The food is free to recipients, but producers are paid full retail price for their products. The LocalFAM program is composed of multiple food access programs that often operate at the same time, impacting 7 counties in the High Country.
“LocalFAM is built on the philosophy that everyone has a right to access healthy food and that nutritious food can serve as medicine, particularly for treating and preventing many of the chronic illnesses that people experiencing food insecurity are at a high risk for,” said Sam Springs, BRWIA’s LocalFAM Coordinator. “This idea of using food as a form of preventative care has gained traction within the medical community in recent years, and we are excited to see this kind of holistic thinking continue to gain support,” Sam continued.
Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture is hosting the 2nd annual LocalFAM Summit on March 7, 2024 at the Watauga County Agricultural Conference Center. Sponsored by ASU’s Center for Appalachian Studies, the Summit brings together food access organizations, local food producers, and other community stakeholders to discuss food insecurity in the High Country, barriers to access, and solutions to food access issues in the community. Focus will be on working together to form strategic partnerships that will benefit the High Country community by expanding networks of influence and working together to overcome the obstacles that food pantries face in their daily operations.
In 2023, BRWIA’s LocalFAM program distributed over 2,080 boxes of healthy, fresh food to 13 partner organizations in the High Country. That translates into 39,027 pounds of high quality local food on our neighbor’s tables and $110,610 in revenue for 63 participating local farmers and producers. Christy at Blowing Rock Cares says, “I have had clients who are very happy to receive fresh produce. Some of them comment on how this is good for their diet and they just enjoy the freshness…the fresh produce is very much appreciated.”
About Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture
Formed in 2003, Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture (BRWIA) is a women-led organization that builds an equitable, sustainable High Country local food system by supporting producers and cultivating community connections that educate, inspire, and increase the demand for local food. To learn more about BRIWA, please visit www.brwia.org.
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