Author: Mattea Mitchell
Planning Unit: Hickman County CES
Major Program: Local Food Systems
Plan of Work: Enhance access to local healthy foods by assisting producers in identifying new market opportunities
Outcome: Initial Outcome
Throughout the 2020 year, families and businesses alike were struggling. The Four-River WAVE Ag group sought out a way to lend a hand. In replacement of their annual WAVE Ag Event, this organization asked agribusinesses and other local businesses to come alongside the organization and help connect producers with consumers.
Local businesses were overwhelmingly supportive of this idea, contributing over $6,000 to the program. This enabled the WAVE Ag group to go directly to local producers and our farmers markets, buy produce that they were struggling to sell, and distribute that product straight to our local food banks and senior citizens centers. In addition, we were able to support our locally owned grocers by purchasing gift cards and distributing those based on needs in our communities.
There has been wonderful feedback from this program, and it is something that the group will continue to work on throughout the winter months until fresh producer becomes available again.
Hickman County Cooperative Extension Service and the Rotary Park Committee co-hosted the second Kent... Read More
According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture, Hickman County had 246 farm operations on 118,474 acres... Read More
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 18.5% (or 13.7 million) of children and... Read More
Hickman County Cooperative Extension Service and the Rotary Park Committee co-hosted the second Kent... Read More