This week, we’re revisiting our episode “What Is Appalachia?” from December 2021. Appalachia connects mountainous parts of the South, the Midwest, the Rust belt and even the Northeast. The Appalachian Regional Commission defined the boundaries for Appalachia in 1965 with the creation of the Appalachian Regional Commision, a part of Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. It was legislation that sought to expand social welfare, and some localities were eager for the money, while others resisted the designation. The boundaries and definition of Appalachia can now only be changed by an act of Congress.
Home » Inside Appalachia: What Would You Do if Your Grocery Store Disappeared?
Published
Inside Appalachia: What Would You Do if Your Grocery Store Disappeared?
Listen
Share this Article
In Appalachia, where green forests grow abundantly, food is scarce for many. Throughout Appalachia, grocery stores are disappearing. This week on Inside Appalachia we’re looking at some ways communities are resolving to take matters in their own hands.
Food deserts are a growing problem in West Virginia and across the country. The USDA defines a food desert as a part of the country where people don’t have access to fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods. People in more than 40 counties in West Virginia endure some sort of limited food access, and the number is growing as more and more grocery stores close their doors.
Nothing Natural about Food Deserts
Bradley Wilson is a Professor of Geography at West Virginia University and has been working on food access issues for the past six years. He says the term “Food Desert” can sometimes confuse people, and he doesn’t even like to use it:
“A desert is something natural and there’s nothing natural about food deserts. A food desert is the retreat of grocery stores from a particular area. A food desert is really a symptom of a broader economic change that’s taking place. I don’t look at those as natural,” said Wilson.
Business is Brisk at Fresh ‘Oasis’ in Alderson Food Desert
When the grocery store in Alderson closed, the community worked to find local resources with hopes of becoming self-sufficient. A local co-op expanded to create the Green Grocer. The project received two grants from the One Foundation. But its largest chunk of cash came from donors to an Indiegogo campaign. People from across the world sent a total of $31,000 to help the cause. Click here to read more. One of the organizations that helped make the new Alderson Grocery Co-Op possible is Grow Appalachia, which is based out of Berea College in Kentucky. The organization is helping communities take matters into their own hands and helping them grow their own food by providing grants, teaching seminars and providing other farm resources.
What’s in a Name?
Can you guess the town in Appalachia that got its name because hunters would store their meats in a cabin there? Is it Porkey, Pennsylvania, Chicken Gizzard Ridge, Kentucky, or Meat Camp, North Carolina? Listen to the show to find out. (cow sounds courtesy of animal sounds)
Health Challenges in a Food Deserts
In Virginia, Dr. Susan Clark is the Program Director of the Appalachian Foodshed Project and part of Virginia’s Food Desert Task Force at Virginia Tech. She recently took part in a study called “Food Deserts in Virginia: Recommendations From the Food Desert Task Force.” The study focused on determining the current status of food deserts in the Commonwealth of Virginia. We checked in with Clark to help break down the food desert.
Geographers at WVU are Working to Connect People to Food Resources
Geographers at West Virginia University are working to understand the problem of hunger and access to food in Appalachia.
They’re working to holistically understand food insecurity in West Virginia with a program they call West Virginia FOODLINK. As Glynis Board reports, the program is trying to connect people to food resources that already exist throughout the Mountain State.
More Women are Becoming Farmers
The number of women who run farms is on the rise. According to the United State Department of Agriculture women are the most rapidly growing segment of the farming population, accounting for more than 30 percent of all farmers. Today, more than one million women are working on farms, a number that has more than doubled since 1982. And they are raising $13 billion worth of produce each year. One of these women, Audrey Levatino, works on her farm in Gordonsville, Virginia. Her book, Women Powered Farm, is meant to inspire more women to take up agriculture. West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Beth Vorhees spoke with her.
Cucumber Juice and Red Rice & Hemp Burger? Shepherdstown Restaurant Surprises and Satisfies
Today, we’ve been talking about food deserts and looking at ways people are working really hard to help make fresh food available to more people in Appalachia. We wanted to finish with something delightfully delicious- a story about a restaurant in Shepherdstown that’s cooking up something fresh for our plates. So here’s another installment of a new segment here on Inside Appalachia, which features restaurants and recipes with Appalachian roots.
Shepherdstown is a little place with a lot of history. Harpers Ferry and the Antietam battlefield are literally down the road. The tiny downtown has Civil War era brick buildings filled with mom n’ pop restaurants and shops. And there’s a big demand for local, organic foods. Liz McCormick with West Virginia Public Broadcasting visited a local favorite – a restaurant called Mellow Moods.
This week, we’re revisiting our episode “What Is Appalachia?” from December 2021. Appalachia connects mountainous parts of the South, the Midwest, the Rust belt and even the Northeast. The Appalachian Regional Commission defined the boundaries for Appalachia in 1965 with the creation of the Appalachian Regional Commision, a part of Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. It was legislation that sought to expand social welfare, and some localities were eager for the money, while others resisted the designation. The boundaries and definition of Appalachia can now only be changed by an act of Congress.
Another year's legislative session is now behind us, but news of a special session this spring means the West Virginia Legislature won’t be gone for long. In the meantime, we’ll dive into stories on education, including stories on a new study on special education and a group of West Virginia principals visiting the United States Capitol.
On this West Virginia Morning, Erika Howsare is the author of The Age of Deer: Trouble and Kinship with Our Wild Neighbors, a book that takes some of the mystery out of the white tail deer that have lived on the edge of humanity for a very long time.
On this West Virginia Morning, it was a shock when author, musician and West Virginia University professor Travis Stimeling died abruptly in November. They were 43. Folkways Reporter Zack Harold collected remembrances from colleagues, former students and friends. He shared them recently on Inside Appalachia.