Appalachian State University, in partnership with Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture, will present Sustainable Food Week Oct. 24-29. The campus community and the public are invited to participate in both on- and off-campus events throughout the week, beginning with Dr. Gary Paul Nabhan’s public keynote "Conservation You Can Taste" on Oct. 24 at 5:30 p.m. in 114 Belk Library.
The celebration continues throughout the week with additional events, including a campus farmers’ market and seed drive, a plant walk in the university’s nature reserve, the AppalFRESH Sustainable Food Forum and a screening of the film Food Chain$, among others. To view the full schedule and to RSVP for the plant walk, visit http://foodsummit.brwia.org/fall-2016-schedule.html.
Sustainable Food Week is designed not only to bring attention to the problems within our food system, but, even more importantly, to highlight solutions. In addition to noted ethnobiologist Nabhan of the University of Arizona Southwest Center, presenters include seed saving expert Holly Whitesides of Against the Grain Farm in Zionville, Carol Coulter of Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture and other local sustainable food specialists.
“We have the great honor to bring Dr. Nabhan to campus to talk about strategies to revive and adapt place-based foods,” said Dr. Jacqui Ignatova, assistant professor in the Sustainable Development Department. “The week will also be a celebration of what we have as a community through our campus farmers' market, an heirloom apple tasting and a plant walk to learn about local biodiversity, as well as a forum that will showcase the work on sustainable food by our faculty and community partners that support food security.”
Sustainable Food Week is sponsored by AppalFRESH (Appalachian Food Research for Equity, Sustainability, and Health) Collaborative, Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture, the Office of Sustainability, the Goodnight Family Department of Sustainable Development, the Department of Anthropology, RIEEE (Research Institute for Environment, Energy, and Economics) and the Sustainable Development Student Alliance. To learn more, visit http://foodsummit.brwia.org/.
About Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University, in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The transformational Appalachian experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and embrace diversity and difference. As one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina system, Appalachian enrolls about 18,000 students, has a low faculty-to-student ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.
About Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture
Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture (BRWIA) is dedicated to strengthening the High Country's local food system by supporting women and their families with resources, education and skills related to sustainable food and agriculture. BRWIA is dedicated to increasing the economic viability of farming and food processing, encouraging farmers to adopt sustainable farming practices, educating the public about sustainable food and agriculture and improve food security.
Dr. Gary Paul Nabhan
Dr. Gary Paul Nabhan