FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va., August 29, 2024 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development West Virginia State Director Ryan Thorn joined Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin, and leaders of the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority (NRGRDA) to announce a $750,000 Rural Community Advancement Program (RCAP) grant to the West Virginia Hive for a new Food Incubation Hub in Fayette County. The RCAP is a joint program between the ARC and USDA Rural Development.
“We appreciate our partnership and the continued collaboration with the ARC and WV Hive," said Thorn. "This investment is a testament of Rural Development’s commitment to spur new economic opportunities in rural communities by supporting the diversification of services offered to entrepreneurs and small businesses by WV Hive in not just Fayette County but across their service footprint."
“Supporting the growth of food and agriculture-based businesses not only spurs economic diversification across Appalachia, but also provides affordable and nutritious food for our people,” said ARC’s Manchin. “ARC is proud to be a piece of the puzzle in helping the Fayette County food hub come to fruition. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with USDA’s Rural Partners Network and the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority to further uplift the future economic growth of southern West Virginia.”
Following the grant announcement, Thorn and Judy Moore, deputy director of NRGRDA and executive director of the WV Hive, moderated a small business roundtable discussion with regional stakeholders at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building. The roundtable brought together WV Hive small business clients, partners, and resource partners, who engaged in an informative discussion that offered deep insights into the successes and challenges of small business development in southern West Virginia. They later joined Moore and Thorn on visits to Waterstone Outdoors in Fayetteville and Pinheads in Oak Hill where the business owners provided tours and in-depth information on their successful businesses, both of which serve as anchors of their communities.
Moore said the WV Hive Food Incubation Hub is a signature project of the Southern West Virginia Community Network, part of the USDA-led Rural Partners Network (RPN).
“In southern West Virginia, there is a lack of concentrated business development support for food businesses, including access to commercial kitchen space,” said Moore. “There are very few commercial kitchens in West Virginia, and none known within the 13-county service area of the WV Hive. The WV Hive’s Food Incubation Hub will include a commercial kitchen with space for 10 to 12 businesses, small wares, and catering supplies. In addition to the kitchen, the food hub will include full WV Hive business support services, with one-on-one business advising and technical assistance support, including access to specialized food management training from the WV Hive and the Food Finance Institute.”
Background
Launched in April 2022 and expanded in November 2022, the Rural Partners Network is now active in 36 community networks in 10 states and Puerto Rico. In West Virginia, the Southern West Virginia Community Network, hosted by the WV Community Development Hub, and the Pioneer Community Network, hosted by Glenville State University, encompass twenty counties and are home to more than 448,000 people.
Community networks receive support from full-time USDA staff who live and work locally. These staff members provide technical assistance based on each community’s needs, helping them navigate federal programs, build relationships and prepare successful applications for funding. In addition to USDA staff, there are staff at about 20 other federal agencies dedicated to RPN and making resources across the government easier to access for people in rural communities.
RPN communities also benefit from coordination through other federal efforts such as the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization and President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative. The Rural Prosperity Interagency Policy Council, co-led by the White House Domestic Policy Council and USDA, advises the RPN program and shares lessons learned through RPN for policy consideration.
For more information on RPN, visit Rural.gov.
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