Our Mission
To foster communities where everyone has equitable access to healthy, local food.
Our Vision
A resilient and sustainable region where everyone is nourished by a just, inclusive, and thriving local food system.
Our Values
- Culture & Community: We value building on our assets -- natural resources, diverse community knowledge, and an Appalachian heritage of cooperation, persistence, and creativity -- and supporting everyone to see their contribution in strengthening our community.
- Education & Empowerment: We believe that by sharing the knowledge to grow and prepare wholesome foods, people become empowered to feed their families, improve their health, and strengthen their community.
- Justice: We are rooted in the belief that equitable access to fresh and nutritious local food leads to a safe and clean environment, supports meaningful work with livable wages, and fulfills the needs and rights of all people.
- Collaboration: We believe in the strength of collaboration, mutually beneficial partnerships, and in doing better together.
Our Commitment
At Community Food Initiatives we believe that celebrating and nurturing diversity is an essential part of any resilient system. Whether working with our community, our food system, or our natural environment, fostering these various systems requires intentionally preserving and promoting diversity as well as learning about how the current systems/circumstances came to be. As we learn about the past and present and think about how to journey into the future, we welcome all who wish to journey with us, and believe that a team with diverse experiences and backgrounds will help us journey better: will generate richer discussions, deepen our understanding and commitment to coexistence, and support nuanced thinking. We strive to be an inclusive workplace where everyone feels welcome and respected. We are an equal opportunity employer and actively encourage applications from those whose identities reflect the diversity of constituents we seek to serve, and whose identities are traditionally underrepresented.
Our History
Community Food Initiatives has been growing and sharing the harvest since 1992. However, the organization's focus has changed significantly since its original conception, and into the last few years of expansion. The original plan of CFI was to be a producer's association of ACEnet. However, after a few years, the organization moved away from this direction, and into a new vision to teach the local community how to garden and preserve their bounty, as well as distribute local, healthy food to those in need.
We have continued to grow with the help of our members, donors, and volunteer that make our mission possible. Through all these years our purpose still remains the same: bring local healthy food to those in need.
Help us make our vision a reality! 
