On October 25, 2016 SustainFloyd joined with Virginia Tech to sponsor a visit by Anthony Flaccavento, author of the new book Healthy Food Systems: A Toolkit for Building Value Chains.
Flaccavento spent the day in Floyd, meeting with members of the SustainFloyd board and with the Growers Round Table members which includes representatives from the EDA and Virginia Cooperative Extension. He joined our local conversation and was able to offer some questions and perspectives from his experience in the world of local, sustainable development. Flaccavento is an experienced organic farmer near Abingdon, VA. He ran for Congress in 2012 to represent the 9th District, which includes Floyd. In 1995, Flaccavento founded Appalachian Sustainable Development and now serves as the president of SCALE, Inc., a private consulting business that supports ecologically healthy economies.
The day was completed with a gathering at the Floyd EcoVillage. A complimentary community beans and rice dinner prepared by SustainFloyd and a presentation featuring Flaccavento in conversation with Woody Crenshaw, founder of SustainFloyd. The overriding message was the need to develop local and global economies that include all aspects—the human, the non-human species and the earth itself. Only in this way can we create a truly balance economy and offer a chance of a healthy life to future generations.