This class – a global health and community engagement course – examines the question of food system planning through the lens of food heritage. To our knowledge, it is the first such class in food system planning in the U.S.  (Please let us know if you’re doing something similar!)

Using case studies, student teams developed a range of planning options for advancing our regional food system by supporting our region’s unique, place-based food heritage. See below for a list of the proposals students developed, with links to their papers and presentations.

Student teams also developed the first set of Central Virginia Food Heritage Short Films,  a series of 3-minute films based on interviews with community elders about our unique local foods and place-based food heritage.

This project was suggested, encouraged and supported by the Virginia Food Heritage Project, a long-term research project initiated by the IEN in collaboration with community partners, with funding from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. The class was supported by a grant from UVa Academic Community Engagement, through the Office of University Community Partnerships at the University of Virginia.

Food Heritage Innovation – Ideas for Advancing Food Heritage and Economic Development in Central Virginia

Food Production – Presentation Slides (PDF)

• Jordan Kelsey – Building Resilience, Security, and Identity into Central Virginia’s Food Production, Adaptable Examples
• Judith Yang – Aquaponics and Place-based Heritage Food in Central Virginia 

Food Processing – Presentation Slides (PDF)

• Laura Bell – Heritage Livestock: Rediscovering Virginia’s Potential
• Katelyn Kresse-Smith – Building Food Processing in the State of Virginia: Cultivating People and Industry
• Ran Zheng – Local Heritage Flours for Bakeries in Central Virginia

Food Retail – Presentation Slides (PDF)

• Elise Brenner – Food Heritage Retail: Story, Sustainability and Sustenance
• Natalie Roper – Farmers Markets: Retail Incubators to Determine Best Practices for the Sale of Heritage Foods
• Liz Russell – Heritage Food Retail: Strategies for Central Virginia

Food Preparation – Presentation Slides (PDF)

• Gina DiCicco – Preparing Heritage Foods, Preparing our Future
• Alex Howle – Preparing our Food Heritage: Promoting Cooking that Engages with our Heritage and Sense of Place

Food Celebrations – Presentation Slides (PDF)

• Lucas Tanner Lyons – The Food Heritage of Virginia: An Untapped Asset of Community & Economic Development
• Laura McCoy – Planning for Food Heritage Celebrations in Central Virginia
•  Shayna Stern – It is Time to Celebrate! Supporting Heritage Food Celebration in Central Virginia

Food Heritage at the University of Virginia – Presentation Slides (PDF)

• Hannah Mangum – Policy Recommendations for the Thomas Jefferson Demonstration Garden at the University of Virginia
• Atlee Webber – Research and Policy Ideas: African-American Food Heritage at the University of Virginia

 Central Virginia Food Heritage Short Films + Interview Stories

You can watch the short films that our students produce online on the YouTube channel for the Virginia Food Heritage project.

The films and short stories based on the interviews are also posted online on the Virginia Food Heritage Project website.