Community & Leadership

• Leadership & Planning
• VALOR Program
• Volunteer with Virginia Cooperative Extension

Both Virginia Cooperative Extension and the national Cooperative Extension System have a long history of engaging agents and specialists with a focus on community development.  In 2005 and 2006, Extension Specialists in Community Viability were placed in each of the Commonwealth’s six extension districts.  While no longer district based, Extension Specialists in Community Viability continue to function as state-wide team in developing research-based programming that responds to local needs while drawing from the knowledge and resources of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, and other institutions and organizations.

We invite you to explore our web-site and contact one of our specialists to discuss ways in which we might help in building strong and sustainable Virginia communities.

Community enterprise development is a major vehicle for local economic prosperity and community flourishing. A community enterprise may be either for-profit or non-profit. They include any entity started or operated in a place or region and which demonstrates a strong commitment to one or more of these conditions:   local ownership, community loyalty, community usefulness, and a contribution to community well-being and prosperity. 

Extension’s Community Viability initiatives support community enterprise development and sustainability in many ways, including: 

• Food-based business assistance
• Resources for non-profit organization development

Community resiliency and capacity refers to efforts to support places in enhancing their strengths, knowledge, and capabilities in order to withstand challenges, shocks, and adversities.  

Extension’s Community Viability initiatives support community resiliency and capacity-building in a number of ways. Some experts refer to this as  “soft infrastructure” of communities. This includes civic engagement and community deliberation initiatives, technical assistance for capacity building, and leadership development.

To learn more about Community Viability programs and assistance concerning community enterprise and resiliency, Ask an Expert.

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A food system includes the production, processing, distribution, sales, purchasing, preparation, consumption, and waste disposal pathways of food. Community food systems seek to make transactions between these pathways more localized (versus global).  Increasing direct connections with producers and consumers is a sound asset-based social and economic development strategy for rural and urban communities. From an economic perspective, encouraging the buying and consumption of local foods can have a positive impact on the local economy by recirculating and reinvesting dollars in local independent businesses.

Marketing the virtues of locally grown food to consumers can potentially increase consumption of fruits and veggies. Health and nutrition professionals have emphasized that diets rich in fruits and vegetables can optimize good health and significantly reduce the rate of diet-related diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and the overall incidence of cancer by 20 percent, and result in reduced health care costs and increased life expectancy. 

A vision to reintroduce Virginians to agriculture and fresh nutritious foods as part of a vibrant innovative community-based food system can help address these societal issues and complement the work of health and nutrition professionals. This vision to reintroduce consumers to agriculture and link health, food, and farming for a sustainable future will require the leadership and dedication of entrepreneurial farmers, food business owners, community-based work groups, government officials, and the research and education community at local, regional, and state levels.  

 Key components of a vibrant, innovative community food system include the following:

• A compelling vision with specific goals and a strategic plan that builds on history, a sense of place, local identity, and community values
• Social, ecological, farmland, and financial resources
• Communication and community collaboration
• A diverse network of committed producers and farms to meet local and regional needs;
• Multiple markets and farm-to-table infrastructure
• Education, research assistance, and informational support for producers and consumers
• Supportive public policies of food and farm innovation to benefit rural and urban communities and economies

The Community Viability program supports community food systems and has worked to facilitate conversations with stakeholders across the state.  These conversations have given rise to community-based projects that are helping keep agriculture profitable and consumers healthy.

To learn more about Community Viability programs and assistance concerning community food systems, consult the resources available in the Community Food System Resource Directory or Ask an Expert.

Contact

• Eric Bendfeldt
• Extension Specialist, Community Viability
• 540-432-6029
• ebendfel@vt.edu
• 2322 Blue Stone Hills Drive Suite 140 
  Harrisonburg, VA 22801

Rapid economic, demographic, and environmental changes are opening exciting opportunities across the Commonwealth. Community Viability works with local leaders and entrepreneurs to respond to these changes.

To learn more about Community Viability programs and assistance concerning emerging community issues, Ask an Expert.

Save Our Towns

A monthly Internet video series offered by Virginia Tech's Outreach and International Affairs to guide and inspire leaders throughout Appalachia who are working hard to create prosperity in their towns. Watch >>

Contact

• Crystal Tyler-Mackey
• Extension Specialist, Community Viability
• 804-527-4235
• cmtyler@vt.edu
• 2810 N. Parham Rd., Suite 300
  Richmond, VA 23294

Eric Bendfeldt
Extension Specialist
540-432-6029
ebendfel@vt.edu

Crystal Tyler-Mackey
Extension Specialist
804-527-4235
cmtyler@vt.edu

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