Nourishing Networks
Nourishing Networks is a three-part workshop series that brings together diverse community stakeholders to identify barriers & implement strategies to expand community food access.
The Goals of Nourishing Networks:
- Facilitate meaningful discussion by bringing diverse community voices to the table
- Unpack and identify food insecurity as a systemic issue rather than the result of individual decision making
- Understand barriers to food access by listening and learning from people who live and/or work in the impacted community
- Identify resources and strategies for improving food access in the community
- Empower participants to plan and facilitate their own food access projects following the workshop series
CFI has held Nourishing Networks workshops in Glouster, Nelsonville, and Coolville. Some of the resulting community-led projects include the following:
- Build-a-garden box project for Glouster residents;
- A series of Coolville community events including a food preservation workshop;
- Installation of beehives and a bee colony at the Nelsonville Presbyterian Farm.
In addition to these project-focused Nourishing Networks workshops, CFI also hosts Nourishing Networks Train the Trainer workshops. This series trains participants to host Nourishing Networks workshops in their own communities, encouraging facilitators to welcome diverse perspectives to the table for discussions about food justice and community empowerment. It builds on the project-based Nourishing Networks curriculum and is shaped by CFI’s experiences hosting workshops in Nelsonville, Glouster, and Coolville. 2021-2022 support for the Train the Trainer is from Sisters Health Foundation.
CFI's Nourishing Networks workshops are based off of the framework and curriculum developed by the WVU Food Justice Lab. Learn more here: http://foodjustice.wvu.edu/nourishing-networks/
Interested in Nourishing Networks or Nourishing Networks Train the Trainer workshops in your community? Contact Executive Director Maribeth Saleem-Tanner for more information regarding our food access mapping and Nourishing Networks.
