Progress 09/15/23 to 09/14/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences for this reporting period included military veterans from all branches of service, including 5 Army, 4 Navy, 5 Marine Corps, and 6 Air Force. Our primary geographic focus was in a region that includes counties in southwest Virginia and northeast TN. Participants were from the following counties: Hawkins, TN; Scott, VA; Dickenson, VA; Washington, TN; Lee, VA; Russell, VA; Sullivan, TN; Tazewell/VA. The demographics of the selected applicants are provided in the Year One Evaluation documentation provided by East TN State University's Applied Social Research Laboratory. Following is an excerpt from that report: The sex distribution shows that one-third of the selected applicants were males while two-thirds were females. The majority of selected applicants (81.3%) were White, while the remaining 18.75% were Black/African American or Latino. No selected applicants stated that they required a handicap accessibility design to support a raised bed if they were selected for the program. The majority (53.0%) of the selected applicants indicated that they were unemployed; of the remaining individuals, 35.3% were employed full-time and 11.8% were employed part-time. Of the selected applications, two (11.8%) indicated that they currently formerly are/were employed in the coal industry and no selected applications were or have been employed in the tobacco industry. All selected applicants had military experience: 33.9% were in the Marine Corps, 27.8% were in the Air Force, 27.8% were in the Army, and 11.1% were in the Navy. Of these, 44.4% served in the military 1-10 years, 27.8% served 11-20 years, 22.2% served 21-30 years, and 5.6% served 31-40 years. Concerning the educational levels of respondents, 41.2% have bachelor's degrees, 23.5% hold high school diplomas, and nearly 35% have some form of college training. The income distribution of the respondents shows that the majority of selected applicants (53.8%) had an income less than $49,999. Sources of information regarding the ASD project showed that 38.9% of the respondents received information through Facebook; the remainder received information through MOVE, ASD Employees, word of mouth, and agriculture vet representatives. The evaluation report is available for review upon request. Changes/Problems:In June of 2024, the Project Director for this project tendered her resignation. After conducting a search and interviews, Morgan Bradley, who was already an employee at ASD was promoted into this role and is doing an excellent job. In our proposal we had identified revising the Rooted in Appalachia brand (created by ASD about a decade ago and which has over the years not been fully utilized) to become a veteran focused brand. Upon further reflection, we decided that utilizing an existing brand vs. trying to create and promote our own would be more effective. Further, we felt that supporting veterans in their own efforts to promote their farm businesses would create far more of an impact. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? One of the goals for this project is to provide educational opportunities to military veterans free of cost with a fee waiver when applicable. The following programs were made available to veterans: Groundwork: Groundwork is a 6-8 month program. It provides empowerment, education, and career development to help participants transition with confidence into the next phase of their lives. 1 US Army military veteran participated in Groundwork. Point of Harvest Certification: Education provided to wild harvesters and dealers of forest roots, herbs, and barks. Training topics included plant identification, sustainable harvest practices, post-harvest handling methods, safety, regulations, marketing and more. 4 veterans participated in PoH certification training. Southwest Virginia Field School: The SWVA Field School is a beginning farmer training program that includes training on business planning, finances, and marketing all geared toward helping beginning farmers create sustainable and profitable small farms. The Field School is made up of two sessions: the Summer Field School and the Winter Business Intensive. 2 veterans are participating in the Southwest Virginia Field School. Good Agricultural Practices Training: ASD provided USDA GAP and Harmonized training to 2 veterans. Grow Your Own: Grow Your Own is a gardening program for everyone - from someone growing for the first time to seasoned market gardeners. As a needs based program, it is focused on helping families gain knowledge, networks, and their own fresh food. For those who are ready to take the next step, we expanded GYO to Digging Deeper where Grow Your Own participants can participate in the program after their three years are completed by serving as a mentor to new gardeners. They can also enroll in our Level-Up portion of Grow Your Own, Digging Deeper, an online curriculum that covers a broad range of topics, including how to go from a home grower to a market grower. 8 veterans participated in this program. Virginia and her daughter Victoria live in Gate City, VA. They never missed a workshop. Virginia is a veteran and is currently a nurse, devoting her life to helping others. Virginia and Victoria volunteer for everything they can for ASD and are always happy to help further during workshops. They have found a community in ASD they did not have previously. ASD and Grow Your Own provide them with a warm space to learn, meet like-minded people, and get involved in the community and better their own health and environmental health. Jessica participated in both the Patriot Garden Box Project and Grow Your Own this year. New to this area, Jessica, her partner, their kids, and Jessica's mom are all involved in their garden. They even brought a delicious kale salad recipe to a workshop to share with other participants! Their multi-generational family really shows how gardening and growing food can impact relationships in a positive way and keep the whole family engaged. Workshops & attendance: Garden Planning - 42 Garden Planting - 35 Seed starting/propagation - 50 Garden Maintenance - 28 Heart-healthy cooking - 25 Food preservation (fermentation and canning) - 20 Regenerative agriculture principles (September)- 20 Season extension (August) - 31 Digging Deeper topics: Advanced propagation Irrigation Business & marketing development FSMA and GAP information - 2 Garden journaling Risk management Advanced soil health Topography & land use planning FARM (Farmer and Rancher Mentoring) program: this program places mentees with experienced farmers to enable them to learn by doing. No veterans participated in this program this year. Since 2000 ASD has operated the Appalachian Harvest Food Hub which connects producers with markets. In the past year 1 veteran sold products through Appalachian Harvest. The following was shared by ASD's Veteran Program Coordinator which highlights that in addition to our target audiences gaining professional development, our staff also benefitted from this project: As the Veteran Program Coordinator providing raised bed gardens, supplies, and instructions to military veterans interested in farming, I gained several valuable insights and lessons from the Patriot Garden Box experience. The programming allowed for a clear vision in aligning Veteran needs. The needs were met through addressing initial limitations of physical, mental, and financial needs. Veterans transitioning to farming often come from diverse backgrounds and may face the physical, mental, or financial challenges presented from past military experiences or current day matters. I learned how important it is to tailor support to individual needs, ensuring that supplies and instructions were accessible for varying skill levels and possible needs with the physical or mental challenges. In watching the veteran success stories, I learned the importance of breaking down complex agricultural concepts into digestible, step-by-step instructions. Many veterans appreciated the initial clear guidance on how to set up and maintain their Patriot Garden Boxes, making the process less overwhelming. In addition to initial instructions, I discovered the value of providing continuous learning through Appalachian Sustainable Development's programming opportunities. Many veterans found therapeutic benefits in working with the soil and nurturing plants. This experience reinforced the importance of promoting farming as a holistic activity that supports mental and physical well-being. Many veterans expressed interest in learning more about crop rotation, composting, and organic practices as they became more comfortable with the basics of their Patriot Garden Boxes. Throughout the entire process, effective communication was key. I gained insight into the importance of building trust with the veteran participants, ensuring they felt supported and comfortable asking questions or seeking additional help in our programming. As a veteran, Community and Camaraderie has been a staple of the complete existence of the military and the life after that veterans share while actively serving or returning to the civilian sector of life. Veterans tend to value camaraderie and shared experiences. The program fostered a sense of community by connecting them with fellow veterans who share a common goal of sustainable farming, offering an avenue for collaboration and mutual support. The feedback loop created by our third-party evaluator (East Tennessee State University) presented that the veterans' feedback was invaluable to our mission in 2025 with the Patriot Garden Boxes. Their experiences with the raised beds helped improve future iterations of the program, such as adjustments to how many families we can help, issues in access to healthy foods, and instructing our veterans in their farming journeys. Overall, I gained a deeper appreciation for the resilience of veterans and the transformative power of farming in their lives. This experience reinforced my passion for helping veterans transition into farming and allowed me to witness firsthand how impactful agriculture can be in their lives. Coordinating the resources, managing our timelines, and working directly with veterans helped refine my project management and communication skills, which were essential in completing the successful Patriot Garden Box Program of 2024. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?ASD conducted broad outreach activities that included attending events that were both veteran focused and general. We also currently have 3 veterans on staff and are actively engaging with them to recruit and support more veterans into our programs. Veterans were featured on our website, in two places - the home page and the veterans page. During this time period, the website received the following traffic: Total views, home page - 60,152 Total views, veterans page - 914 ASD has a very active social media presence, with 11K followers on Facebook. We made 26 veteran-related posts. Following were the Facebook Views: 23,200 Reach: 362,700 3-second views (videos): 20,000 Interactions: 32,300 Views Breakdown: From Followers: 52% From Non-Followers: 48% Instagram Views: 22,000 Reach: 12,000 Interactions: 2,200 YouTube Views: 5,700 Impressions: 68,248 Watch Time (hours): 561.4 Click-thru Rate: 3.2% Views Breakdown: New Subscribers: 106 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? In the next reporting period, ASD plans to supply three times the amount of veterans with Patriot Garden Boxes, tools, gardening manuals, and seeds. We plan to purchase raised bed kits vs. building them from scratch which we have found will be more cost effective and easier to transport. We will also work with local garden store businesses to distribute soil vs. distributing it from a central location which will reduce costs and transportation/logistics burdens on ASD staff and program participants. We will attend 10 events to promote awareness of the opportunities available through ASD for veterans, including: Virginia Biological Farming Conference Appalachian Veterans Fair Vetfest All Mountain Home VA resource fairs (6 events) Farmer Veteran Coalition National Conference We will also bring the full Ag Education team to the University of Tennessee's Veterans Success Center. This center works to aid the transition from soldier to student, from combat to campus, which is often a difficult one. Their goal is to "create an environment where student veterans can thrive in areas of academia, leadership, and connectedness. By facilitating this intentional support, VSC extends learning beyond the classroom, builds community, and provides transformative experiences." We find their model inspiring and plan to learn from it and identify ways to partner, add to and improve our programming, and learn lessons that may inform the new agricultural campus we are building. In recognition of the importance of connecting veteran farmers with other veteran farmers, we will explore implementing a Trail of Veteran Farms, the goal of which would be to connect experienced and new veteran farmers and build social networks that are self-perpetuating. As one of the members of the Appalachia Regional Food Business Center, we are well positioned to help veteran farmers access part of the $16.6 million in Business Builder Awards available and will ensure that veterans are aware of and equipped to apply for this support. We will continue to recruit veterans to participate in all ASD programming opportunities. The Veteran Support Coalition will begin with its first monthly meeting in February and continue for the rest of 2025. We have created a successful Farmer PRIDE coalition to support LGBTQ+ farmers which has expanded to Knoxville, TN and Huntington, WV. In 2025, we will use the successes of this program and its expansion to inform the Veteran Support Coalition's future course. ? In year 2, we will work with the University of Tennessee to host another Horticulture Therapy Seminar. We are currently exploring two options with the University of Tennessee. Plans should be finalized in Q12025.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Our goal is to develop a replicable model of sustainable local food systems which similar communities can utilize to mitigate supply chain issues, while providing quality workforce development to military veterans in rural Appalachia. The Patriot Garden Project will be designed to provide military veterans with a raised bed garden installed by other military veteran volunteers. 120 beds will be built and installed. The Patriot Garden Box Project built and delivered 40 raised bed garden boxes to 20 veteran families. Along with the boxes, each family was given soil, gloves, hats, seeds, gardening manual, harvesting basket and a hori hori garden knife. The raised bed gardens provided sustenance for 6 families facing economic hardship and minimal financial access to healthy foods and 5 families utilizing the raised beds as mental health therapy. The remaining families discussed how the raised bed gardens were to be utilized as teaching tools for their kids while providing healthy food. Upon completion of the Patriot Garden Boxes, there was enough material left over for four additional boxes. The garden boxes were assembled and donated to Blue Mountain Therapy, which provides physical and behavioral therapy for patients in home and outpatient settings in Southwest Virginia. Blue Mountain Therapy tended to the garden boxes and allowed for their veteran program to facilitate free vegetables for pick up from local veterans. To commence the program, Blue Mountain Therapy had a "Raising of the Flag" ceremony and invited local veterans to participate. The boxes were assembled and delivered by a team of ASD staff and volunteers, all of whom were veterans. The most notable story was from a family whose child has Cerebral Palsy. The family previously had a gardening site within an acre walking distance from the house and their child actively participated in gardening activities or was present for outside time. The distance from the house began to present a problem and made it difficult or impossible for them to engage in this mentally and physically healthy activity. The Patriot Garden Boxes provided a location for the same activities for the child right off the front porch of the house resulting in longer periods of outside time for the mother and child. All paid educational opportunities provided by ASD will be offered to military veterans free of cost with a fee waiver when applicable. 5 programs with fees will include a cost waiver. Veterans participated in 4 of the 5 opportunities to participate in educational programming (details provided in the next section). Increased participation in the Veteran Support Coalition, made up of veteran farmers to support veteran farmers. 20 participants currently enrolled will increase to 60. 43 veterans are currently participating in the Veteran Support Coalition. Participate in several veteran specific events to increase outreach and recruitment. 10 annual events for veterans will be hosted or attended each year with attendance data for each including the number of overall event attendees, number of ASD staff contacts, and new additions to the mailing list via sign up sheets with a target of 200 new contacts per year. Appalachian Veterans Fair/ Bristol MotorSports Speedway. The Appalachians Veterans Fair is a collaborative effort between East Tennessee State University and community partners throughout the region to increase networking between veteran service organizations and the substantial veteran population in Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia and Western North Carolina. More than 141 VSOs and 79 community partners registered to participate in the fair, roughly twice the number present during the inaugural fair in 2023. Participants offered resources for health services, peer groups, social clubs, agriculture and more. Appalachian Sustainable Development hosted a Veterans Horticultural Therapy Workshop in partnership with The University of Tennessee, Horticultural Department. The event was sponsored by Tennessee AgrAbility, UT Extension, Institute of Agriculture, UT GArdens, and Tennessee State University Cooperative Extension. The workshop was designed for current military personnel and veterans and lasted 6-hours. The military and veteran participants shifted through Hands on horticulture activities, career options for veterans in farming through TNAgrAbility, and opportunities to self network with participants in similar interests of agriculture. The seminar's attendance included 14 veterans, 1 professor, and 4 representatives of the sponsors. The Horticulture Therapy seminar had a significant impact in building community amongst veteran farmers while engaging in career options, hands-on horticultural activities, and opportunities presented by the participating veterans. Two veteran participants shared problems and resolution to instances with raising sheep. One veteran was in his beginning process of raising sheep with similar end goals as the other. The more experienced farmer has been practicing and raising from farm to market since 2015 and owns a farm in Rural Retreat, VA. He was able to assist in the major problem the less experienced farmer was encountering with his Romney and Suffolk sheep. Connecting these two farmers and leveraging experiences, along with the open invite to visit his operation created profitable solutions and a lasting friendship. James H. Quillen Mountain Home Veterans Affairs Job Fair, Johnson City, TN. James H. Quillen Mountain Homer Partnered with the American Jobs Center. The job fair hosted 42 Company representatives and had an attendance of 57 veterans. Summer VetFest offered an array of veteran benefit displays and community resource opportunities through viable vendors. This year's vendor attendance included 30 vendors and 120 VA employees with a calculated 200 veterans in attendance. Air Force veteran, Dave Harbin, was introduced to Appalachian Sustainable Development during the Appalachian Veterans Fair held at Bristol Motor Speedway while promoting the Patriot Garden Box Project. Although gainfully employed, Dave sought better job opportunities at the Veterans Fair. Dave's background in marketing made him a great fit for ASD'S position in marketing. Dave completed the process and is now working with ASD as a full time manager of ASD's work with the Appalachia Regional Food Business Center. Although Dave's position is not strictly focused on veteran programming, he spends time dedicating extra hours to veterans programming and events. Though the following were not veteran specific events, information about veteran programming was shared: Appalachian Farm and Garden Show, Meadowview Convention Center, Kingsport TN Earth Day, Abingdon, VA Aetna Mental Health Event: Turnout the Burnout, Bristol VA Appalachian County Fair, Gray, TN Rooted in Appalachia (RiA) is a promotional campaign combining the previously established RiA brand with "Veteran Owned and Operated" to provide marketing assistance, branded produce bags, stickers, and more. One marketing campaign will be developed. ASD has been attempting to work with the Farmer Veteran Coalition's Homegrown by Heroes program. Our goal was to not reinvent the wheel and leverage the traction this brand already has. However, we have struggled to move this forward and are reassessing next steps. We are considering using some of the funding allocated for RiA to promote individual farmers through short commercials they can use to promote themselves while also promoting the producers in a variety of ways. ASD is a member of the Appalachia Regional Food Business Center which is being led at ASD by a veteran. We hope that will enable us to promote their work, connect them to market opportunities, and aid them in accessing Business Builder Subawards which can be up to $100K per award.
Publications
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