Assets

• Farmers’ Market
• Desire
• BRWIA
• Women
• Energy among growers
• Coop. extension offices
• ASU
• Young people – women and men
• Growing interest in Sustainable Ag among young people
• Progressive government
• Community support – businesses and restaurants (mast store)
• Grant money
• Hunger and health coalition
• WIC-FMNP and SFMNP
• Tomato Shack donates fresh produce to those in need
• Selling canned foods – local people
• Roadside stands
• Ashe Community Kitchen
• Interest in farm to school in Watauga
• Tourists/tourism
• Skills-people
• Neighbors
• Class status
• 2 big employers: Hosp and ASU (compost, independent food service)
• Opportunities – expensive and poor quality
• Workshare farms
• CSA
• Cooking class for moms (extension)
• Strong connection between land and people
• Slow food movement
• Grocery – high cost of living brought Earth Fare and other things we never would have gotten – customer demand
• 6 food banks, 1000 pantries

Barriers

• Church kitchens
• Regulations on canned goods
• Class status
• Transportation (for people) to food outlets
• Food transport
• Knowledge on how to prepare nutritious foods
• Cooking space/storage – lack of
• Cooking equipment – lack of
• Laziness
• Society – perceived standard of living
• Society – separation land and people
• Time constraints
• USDA subsidy program – corn syrup
• Employment/living wage – income
• Out-of-season local food outlet
• Need a food coop – year-round farmers’ market
• Need more education
• High cost of living - not enough money to put into food
• Local food is more expensive
• Awareness about nutrition
• Bad food is cheap
• Diseases related to poor nutrition
• Time to prepare healthy food
• Local food is elitist

Questions
1.How do we address educational program surrounding class/access without patronizing?
2.How do we reach people to educate about food issues?
3.How do we use food banks/pantries:
a.Getting healthy food in
b.Educating clients
4.How much waste is produced here and not used?
5.Getting community members to teach each other – utilize the skill and people here.
6.Community space in town – message board
7.county transportation service (for people)
8.How do we collaborate with community groups to make change, drop prices, and get the word out about current programs?
9.survey – target groups (low income)
10.How do we re-distribute assets and wealth (not through taxes, making it voluntary)
11.Faith community working with other groups
12.How do we partner with those who we perceive as “on the other side”?
13.How do we get food from farm to processing to people?
14.How do we subsidize #13?
15.Growers cooperative – begin one?, build it?, support it?
16.Are there local policies that need to be made to help this?
17.Who else needs to be here/can we learn from?
18.Build all educational programs and agency collaborations
19.Community website
20.How do we shed more light on the issue?