SENATE RESOLUTION 10

(By Senators Miller, Yost, Stollings, Trump, Williams, Leonhardt, Plymale,

Unger and Laird)

[Introduced January 26, 2016]

Designating January 26, 2016, as West Virginia Local Foods Day at the Legislature.

Whereas, The mission of the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition is to build, support and strengthen a statewide network of those involved in West Virginia’s local food economies, with the interconnected goals of improving access to healthy, locally-produced food for all West Virginians and helping viable food and farm businesses to grow; and

Whereas, The West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition is made of farmers, food processors, distributors, agencies, health professionals, extension agents, researchers, nonprofits, farmers markets, youth groups, religious organizations, consumers and institutions that feed people; and

Whereas, The West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition works within its network to change agricultural policy, promote access to local foods, share resources and grow food and farm businesses; and

Whereas, The West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition has enacted the Road Map for the Food Economy,  a food charter that was developed through public input from hundreds of West Virginians from all geographic areas that outlines major challenges facing West Virginia’s food economy and answers with an action plan and a series of four goals for accomplishing needed changes; and

Whereas, The West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition convenes five Food & Farm Working Groups that are tasked with overcoming the challenges outlined in the Road Map for the Food Economy. These working groups include aggregation and distribution; meat processing; school, youth and community gardens; access to local, healthy food; and affiliate group West Virginia Farmers Market Association. Working groups consist of volunteers with backgrounds in various sectors of West Virginia’s food systems that come together to work through West Virginia’s food system challenges and opportunities and implement impactful projects and policies; and

Whereas, The West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition, with its partners, aids in building and strengthening food and farm businesses and seeks to spur economic growth through building strong local food economies in regional “foodsheds”, areas where food is produced, transported and consumed in West Virginia; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate:

That the Senate hereby designates January 26, 2016, as West Virginia Local Foods Day at the Legislature; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Senate acknowledges the progress the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition’s network has made in building strong local food systems, a competitive local food economy and increasing food access in West Virginia; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition and its working groups.