Knott county is like many other communities in Appalachia who have seen a large growth in the local food market. In order to expand our potential for better local food services, the Chamber of Commerce, Hindman Settlement School, and Knott County Extension Service applied for a Local Foods, Local Places Planning Grant.

 

Local Foods, Local Places is a program that helps cities and towns across the country protect the environment and human health. They do this by engaging with local partners to reinvest in existing neighborhoods as they develop the local food systems. It is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), EPA, and the Northern Border Regional Commission,

and supports locally led, community-driven efforts to protect air and water quality, preserve open space and farmland, boost economic opportunities for area farmers and businesses, improve access to healthy local food, and promote childhood wellness.

Once the strategy was in place to apply for the planning grant, and after a few conference calls with leaders from each organization, Knott County was awarded the grant in the Spring of 2018. The National Group of Local Foods, Local Places began meeting regularly via conference calls with the local committee in Knott County. During these meeting local resources, community visions, and the current status of our local foods, local places was discussed. With some history and ideas in place, the local committee began plans to set up local planning meetings to be led by the national group. In early fall, the committee scheduled open planning meetings for all community organizations, area leaders, and the general public. The meetings were held in Hindman, and led by the national committee.

After two days of discussion, a lot of great ideas and dreams for our community came out of the meetings. After participating in the planning and hearing the discussions, residents realized that our community has much to offer the public, including a quiet unique town, lots of artistic talent being showcased, and an abundance of Appalachia flavor from our local foods. The comprehensive plan included a need and vision for local foods restaurant and a boutique hotel in our historic downtown district. Also, with the ideas from the workshops,  we have already been able to expand our farmers market to include music, food, and craft vendors twice a month at a community gathering called Tuesdays on Troublesome. The Knott County Agriculture Agent is very pleased to be a part of a local committee that is constantly looking at ways to improve our community’s well being and economy.