Mode of Program Participation
Community Organizing and Educational Programming
Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
Fostering Healthy and Sustainable Relationships with Food
Session Abstract or Summary
This presentation will illustrate ways of approaching and addressing the food-body relationship with young people growing up in rural Appalachia. High Rocks Educational Corporation strives in part to educate middle school and high school age youth about healthy eating habits as well as relationships with food that are environmentally and economically sustainable. At our youth center located in Lewisburg, WV, High Rocks utilizes a Free Dinner program as part of our after-school programming; We also serve healthy meals which our youth participants help to prepare at all High Rocks events including our Summer Camps. Stemming from the belief that an understanding of where our food comes from contributes substantially to healthy and mindful food habits, our organization partners with Grow Appalachia to provide community members and High Rocks girls with the skills and resources to grow sustainable, nutritious food. This presentation will share successes and address challenges that the organization has faced as we work to create and foster nutrition-based education in our programming, our schools and our communities, and will be a platform for discussion about how to solve food insecurity issues in rural Appalachia through education and community organizing.
Presentation #1 Title
Fostering Healthy and Sustainable Relationships with Food
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
This presentation will illustrate ways of approaching and addressing the food-body relationship with young people growing up in rural Appalachia. High Rocks Educational Corporation strives in part to educate middle school and high school age youth about healthy eating habits as well as relationships with food that are environmentally and economically sustainable. At our youth center located in Lewisburg, WV, High Rocks utilizes a Free Dinner program as part of our after-school programming; We also serve healthy meals which our youth participants help to prepare at all High Rocks events including our Summer Camps. Stemming from the belief that an understanding of where our food comes from contributes substantially to healthy and mindful food habits, our organization partners with Grow Appalachia to provide community members and High Rocks girls with the skills and resources to grow sustainable, nutritious food. This presentation will share successes and address challenges that the organization has faced as we work to create and foster nutrition-based education in our programming, our schools and our communities, and will be a platform for discussion about how to solve food insecurity issues in rural Appalachia through education and community organizing.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
After graduating from Pocahontas County High School and graduating from Harvard University, Sarah returned to West Virginia to help found the High Rocks, where she has been working for the last 20 years. Sarah is dedicated to improving opportunity and access for young people and is a classic social entrepreneur in the region, growing High Rocks from a start-up to a $700,000 per year
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Renae moved to West Virginia and entered High Rocks as a girl in 2002 and grew immensely by participating in the different programs that High Rocks offered. She graduated from Pocahontas County High School and continued her education as a first-generation college student at Alice Lloyd College, where she majored in Social Science with a minor in Sociology. After graduating she returned home to West Virginia where she was given the opportunity to give back to the organization by serving two years as an AmeriCorps volunteer and then becoming the Development Coordinator. She is so excited to work at a place that has such a powerful impact on so many of the lives we touch.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Britt Huerta is a proud Mexican American from a small seacoast town in New Hampshire. As a first-generation college student she earned her BA in Sociology and Anthropology from West Virginia University, where her passion for people, their cultures and histories flourished. During her undergrad she spent her free time exploring wild-wonderful West Virginia and fell in love with the Appalachian people, culture and its vast natural beauty. After graduation Britt decided to stay in West Virginia and give back to the people of this state. She spent two years serving youth and their families as an AmeriCorps Member at a historic community center in the Greater Morgantown Area. In 2015 she came to join the High Rocks team and help the organization fulfill their mission of empowering the young people in West Virginia.
Fostering Healthy and Sustainable Relationships with Food
This presentation will illustrate ways of approaching and addressing the food-body relationship with young people growing up in rural Appalachia. High Rocks Educational Corporation strives in part to educate middle school and high school age youth about healthy eating habits as well as relationships with food that are environmentally and economically sustainable. At our youth center located in Lewisburg, WV, High Rocks utilizes a Free Dinner program as part of our after-school programming; We also serve healthy meals which our youth participants help to prepare at all High Rocks events including our Summer Camps. Stemming from the belief that an understanding of where our food comes from contributes substantially to healthy and mindful food habits, our organization partners with Grow Appalachia to provide community members and High Rocks girls with the skills and resources to grow sustainable, nutritious food. This presentation will share successes and address challenges that the organization has faced as we work to create and foster nutrition-based education in our programming, our schools and our communities, and will be a platform for discussion about how to solve food insecurity issues in rural Appalachia through education and community organizing.
