Author: Chadwick Conway
Planning Unit: Knott County CES
Major Program: Local Food Systems
Plan of Work: Ag Production & Natural Resources
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
After the 2022 catastrophic flood, many family gardens suffered significant loss of rich nutrient soil. Fortunately, during the spring of 2024, Grow Appalachia, a sustainable-based gardening program funded through Berea College, returned to the Hindman Settlement School. As the need for locally grown foods began to rise, the Knott County Agriculture Agent, with the help of Grow Appalachia and the Hindman Settlement School was able to reach new families. Together, they enrolled sixty-four families in Knott County, the majority being novice gardeners, in the Grow Appalachia Program. All participants enrolled in this program were required to have a soil test analysis, provided by the Knott County Extension Service. This test checks for basic nutrients in their garden. Participants were also taught a series of gardening classes, including soil health, basic gardening, composting, and disease and insect control. With these educational resources from extension, participants raised over nineteen thousand pounds of fresh produce this year, with a minimum value of $50,000.00. This abundant growth of produce has allowed clients to become active in giving back to their community. Over one hundred families have enjoyed fresh vegetables from these gardens which is around 1,500 individuals. The partnership with Grow Appalachia has been a great program to allow these gardeners the opportunity to provide families with fresh local healthy food and help save a lot of money due to the rising cost of produce. The partnership with this program along with these activities has been beneficial in expanding our local food initiative and given several opportunities for extension to help provide more understanding and knowledge about growing produce for families in Knott County.
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