Happy New Year! The Buy Haywood team is back from our winter break and ready to dive right in to our 2015 agenda.
Have you ever wondered exactly what we do here at Buy Haywood? We talk a lot about local agripreneurs, promoting Haywood County farm products (from Christmas trees to honey bees), share delicious recipes and menu ideas while working to support the preservation of our rich agricultural heritage and farmlands. Sounds pretty good, right? What does all that really mean? If you pull back the curtain at Buy Haywood, what would you see?
We’d like to offer you a project summary of our 2014 efforts:
MARKETING
- April, 2014, we launched a new & improved website
- Expanded our Web Directory with new catagories and listings
- Increased our social media platforms to include: Facebook, Instagram, Farm Fresh Blog and a Youtube Channel. Follow our adventures on your favorite platform!
- Presented multiple programs to service organizations, community clubs, garden clubs and other groups
- Served as the featured guest for three live radio interviews at WRGC 540 AM on the 540 Focus program
- Enjoyed multiple interviews that appeared in publications such as Smoky Mountain Living Magazine, Mountain Xpress and Romantic Asheville Blog
- Launched our #ShopSmall challenge to coincide with Small Business Saturday. Each of our agripreneurial partners are also small businesses and serve as the backbone to our local economy.
- Launched our #ShopSmall Contest that ran from Thanksgiving week to midnight on Christmas Day. Congratulations to Lori Mehaffey Mann who won three nesting bowls from Hemphill Pottery!
AGRITOURISM
We printed and distributed 10,000 copies of our highly popular Find your Adventure! 2014 Agritourism Guide. Work has already begun on the 2015 Guide!
Our agritourism efforts are supported by Haywood Tourism Authority, Haywood Advancement Foundation, Bethel Rural Community Organization & Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP).
COOKING LOCAL TOGETHER: Served 808 participants over 8 events
Our 2014 outreach project was inspired by our highly successful two-year Cooking Local Project (2012-2013). The design of Cooking Local Together drew on the most successful elements of our previous project while also expanded to include interactive components rooted in the national, evidence-based program “Food is Elementary” from the Food Studies Institute.
Through collaboration with other partner agencies and organizations, we had the opportunity to share a rich and engaging selection of materials to increase enthusiasm around making healthy, simple and affordable dishes that can be easily replicated at home.
Educational & Activity Materials provided by the following project contributors:
a) North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (NCDA&CS)
b) Healthy Haywood
c) Haywood County Health Department
d) WNC Healthy Kids
e) Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP)
f) MountainWise
The project was funded by a grant from Healthy Haywood, Haywood Advancement Foundation and Bethel Rural Community Organization.
FARM STEWARDS YOUTH PROJECT: Served 334 Students
Our Farm Stewards Youth Project was designed to complement existing “Farm to School” initiatives already active in our community by taking learning outside the classroom to offer students an interdisciplinary learning experience layered with connections to farming and agriculture in our home community. Visit the project page for complete information.
Participating Groups:
- Roots in Education, Summer Camp
- Junaluska Elementary, 4th Grade
- Junaluska Elementary, 5th Grade
- Jonathan Valley, 1st Grade & 5th Grade
- Waynesville Middle School, Exceptional Students 6, 7 & 8
We provided “Activity Packets” for every student and “Teacher Packets” for every teacher and assistant. Materials provided by the following partners:
a) Buy Haywood
b) Canton Branch, Haywood County Public Library
c) Waynesville Branch, Haywood County Public Library
d) Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP)
e) Healthy Haywood / Haywood County Health Department
f) WNC Healthy Kids
g) MountainWise
The project was funded by a grant from Haywood Advancement Foundation and Bethel Rural Community Organization.
FARMER TO CHEF PROJECT
Buy Haywood’s Farmer to Chef Initiative connects farmers, chefs, and distributors in Haywood County and surrounding counties to provide farmers/growers with expanded market opportunities.
UNIQUELY LOCAL PROJECT
We developed a Haywood County label series designed to expand marketing and branding for Haywood County agripreneurs. Look for the Uniquely Local labels, door clings and property signs around Haywood County!
Our Uniquely Local designations are:
Uniquely Local, Farm Fresh
Uniquely Local, Farm Raised
Uniquely Local, Farm to Table
Uniquely Local, Artisan Produced
Uniquely Local, Haywood Grown
….and through this campaign, developed Uniquely Local, Farm Stewards
To celebrate this project, we facilitated the 2014 Uniquely Local Food Crawl! We had 3,229 entries for the multitude of local prizes.
Funded by a grant from NC Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund (NC ADFP)
PHEW! 2014 was an amazing season. We watched our agripreneurial community grow by leaps and bounds.
Buy Haywood is a 100% grant funded initiative. If you would like to contribute to our efforts, donations are greatly appreciated! Our parent organization, Haywood Advancement Foundation, is a 501 (c) (3) organization. All donations are tax deductible! Should you decide to contribute to Buy Haywood, your name will be added to our website AND you will receive a tax letter from the Haywood Advancement Foundation.
Donation checks should be made payable to: Haywood Advancement Foundation (with Buy Haywood in the memo line).
Mailed to:
28 Walnut Street, Suite 4
Waynesville, NC 28786
Special thanks to the Haywood Advancement Foundation, Haywood Tourism Authority, Bethel Rural Community Organization & Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) for your 2015 investment in Buy Haywood and our many projects!
We are thrilled to introduce Erika Baltzley, our super dynamic intern! Erika is an upcoming graduate of Haywood Community College’s Low Impact Development Program and brings a tremendous amount of knowledge, enthusiasm and dedication to our many projects.
Looking forward to a prosperous 2015! Thank you for joining us on this journey.
Tina Masciarelli, MLA
Buy Haywood Project Coordinator
info@buyhaywood.com
828.734.9574