Local food hubs are crucial in supporting small farms as well as empowering local communities through convenient and healthy food options, according to Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture Community Relations Manager Katie Ferrell.

Celebrating their 20-year anniversary in 2023, BRWIA is a nonprofit organization which began as a group of women supporting each other’s farms by sharing ideas and resources. Having expanded to engaging about 200 producers within 100 miles of Boone, it now works to support local farms in a variety of aspects including supporting the High Country Food Hub — a year-round online farmers market. 

Paying homage to the grandmothers and great-grandmothers that were the original support of the organization, some of the organization’s original partners are still engaged with BRWIA. They have received consistent support from other organizations including the Watauga County Extension and the Center for Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University.

“While people have come and gone over the years, there’s consistent local support for the idea of supporting local farmers and making sure people in the community know about them,” Ferrell said. “It supports everyone and keeps money here in the local economy.”

Much of BRWIA’s community efforts are funded by grants from foundations like Z. Smith Reynolds and Golden LEAF, which have supported school outreach programs, seed libraries, and grants to local farmers for professional development and conference attendance.

One of these grants assisted in expanding the Food Hub in collaboration with Watauga County. This project arose from a need for farmers to sell more of their vegetables and pasture-raised meats. BRWIA opened a freezer for farmers to store processed products before they were taken to farmers markets, and this original freezer expanded to multiple freezers as well as a walk-in refrigerator for product storage.

“Whatever the needs of the community are, whether focus groups or farmer outreach, we work to find grants to meet those needs,” Ferrell said. “We also have individuals and organizations reaching out to us with partnership interests, and sometimes we search for grants to hire staff for these new programs. Through the years the needs have varied, and we continue to work to ensure farmer support and equitable access to high quality local food.”

BRWIA also facilitates a farmer mentorship and training program where farmers host workshops to teach others in the agriculture and general communities. Other outreach programs have included climate-smart agricultural research to increase farm resiliency, a seed library in partnership with the Ashe and Watauga County libraries, and a Community of Gardens program which fostered a network of school and community gardens to host educational workshops for teachers and community members.

“We’re not necessarily the experts, but we’re the convener,” Ferrell said. “We depend on the farmers to be the experts and help share their knowledge with others. The networking and the learning that happens as a result is just so great, and really helpful for everyone.”

Farmers in the High Country have said without the support of the BRWIA, their businesses would not have made it through certain challenges, like the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, more than 12,000 orders were placed through the Food Hub, and between 2017 to 2023, BRWIA’s programs and grants have led to $3.6 million being spent in the local agricultural economy.

The Food Hub also allows farmers to track sales to follow demand trends. They are able to log in to their account and see what sold well in the past. BRWIA also hosts an annual meeting to discuss customer discovery surveys that share what customers would like to see more of, helping local farmers decide where their energy will be best invested during upcoming growing seasons.

Prepared foods are trending on the Food Hub and are a good way for agricultural businesses to add another market channel to their offerings. While Ferrell said she has also seen an increase in demand for added-value products, finding available commercial kitchen spaces remains a challenge, as does keeping those products at a reasonable cost despite the time and effort required for production.

“Whether it’s with our food, information, stories, or resources, we feel like our role is to help make the connections,” Ferrell said. “To help folks who want access to food that could otherwise be cost prohibitive at the same time as helping farmers learn more, reach more customers, and grow their business, we’re thrilled to continue expanding in all we are doing for the agricultural community.”