The Roanoke Foodshed Network (RFN) is providing support for members of the RFN and the Roanoke arts community to host a series of community-based arts and cultural events around food and farming. These events provide opportunities for residents and farmers to share their stories and shape the narrative surrounding Roanoke’s food system.
This work is made possible through the City of Roanoke Arts and Cultural funding, AgrAbility Virginia, and support from the Virginia Tech Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation and Local Environmental Agriculture Project (LEAP). We invite you to join us for the following events, led by local artists.
Farm Dinner Theater
- Date and Time: Aug. 28, 6-8:30pm
- Location: Catawba Sustainability Center, 5075 Catawba Creek Road, Catawba, VA, 24070
OkraFest Community Mural
- Date and Time: Sept. 10, 3-8pm
- Location: Lick Run Farm, 1626 10th St. NW, Roanoke, VA, 24012
CommUnity-ArtsReach Theater Production at OkraFest
- Date and Time: Sept. 10, 5pm
- Location: Lick Run Farm, 1626 10th St. NW, Roanoke, VA, 24012
Rhythms of the Land Film Screening and Community Panel Discussion
- Date and Time: Sept. 13, 7-8:30pm
- Location: St. Paul United Methodist, 502 Gilmer Ave NW, Roanoke, VA 24016
CommUnity-ArtsReach Theater Production at Carilion’s Fall Harvest Festival
- Date and Time: Sept 28, 5:30-7:30pm –
- Location: Morningside Urban Farm and Park, 917 Morgan Ave SE, Roanoke, VA 24013
Soul Sessions Open Mic Poetry Event
- (Spring 2024, date, time, and location TBD)
Hoot and Holler Storytelling Event
- (Spring 2024, date, time, and location TBD)
The goal of this program is to leverage art as a vehicle for social change within the Roanoke food system. Local artists are hosting these culture-building activities and events to help residents enter into a larger dialogue exploring struggles, achievements, possibilities, and dreams for our food system. Residents will have the opportunity to:
- Strengthen their sense of place and connection within the broader foodshed
- Increase their awareness of healthy food access resources and neighborhood food production spaces
- Connect to the Roanoke Foodshed Network (RFN)
“The arts connect us,” says Meighan Sharp, chair of the Roanoke Arts Commission. “They bring us together to form common experiences, understand our place in the world, and pursue our shared goals. We’re looking forward to gathering with neighbors and artists around this fundamental aspect of our lives – the growth of our food, how it nourishes our family and friends, and the culture it helps to shape.”
According to Angela Charlton, Community Health Educator with Carilion Clinic Community Health and Outreach, “The arts provide powerful and innovative tools that strengthen our community’s well-being. We’re excited to support these upcoming events and expand awareness of how our food system, the arts, and community connections build greater health and resiliency.”
For more information or to speak with someone about the RFN Arts and Culture events, contact Maureen McGonagle at mo@leapforlocalfood.org or 540-238-0101.
About the Roanoke Foodshed Network:
The Roanoke Foodshed Network (RFN) was formed in 2020 as a way to build community and capacity between diverse partners working to address food systems change in the Roanoke region. The goals of this network have grown out of a decade of conversations with farmers, planners, and local food advocates. The RFN aspires to develop a comprehensive approach to creating a more equitable and resilient food and farm system that produces health and abundance in the Roanoke region. The Roanoke-based nonprofit Local Environmental Agriculture Project (LEAP) is the fiscal agent for a multi-year United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) planning grant. Other leading network partners include Carilion Clinic, Feeding Southwest Virginia, The Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission, Virginia Association for Biological Farming, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and the Virginia Tech Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation.
