(AGENPARL) - Roma, 4 Giugno 2024 - (AGENPARL) – mar 04 giugno 2024 Issued: Jun 4, 2024 (1:56pm EDT)
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EPA Announces Partnership to Increase Access to Healthy Foods and Improve
Public Health
WASHINGTON—Today, June 4, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in
partnership with the Appalachian Regional Commission, announced the selection
of six communities that will receive technical assistance through the Local
Foods, Local Places program. This shared effort will develop local food
systems to advance environmental protection, strengthen local economies and
further sustainability goals.  
“Access to fresh, quality food is essential to good health, and supporting
locally grown food options can help to reduce pollution, including greenhouse
gas emissions,” said Vicki Arroyo, EPA Associate Administrator for Policy.
“Our Local Foods, Local Places program provides technical assistance with
proven strategies to help communities address their nutritional needs and
economic development and environmental goals.” 
Through this assistance, each community will pursue their local project
planning goals: 
Braxton County, West Virginia is working with the town of Sutton to expand
plans for its farmers market and transform a two-acre Main Street space. 
The city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania plans to engage residents and
stakeholders to reimagine the Carrick Neighborhood Farmers Market. 
Turner Station in Baltimore County, Maryland intends to create more
opportunities for healthy food access through a Turner Station food access and
aggregation plan. 
The town of Spring City, Tennessee plans to improve access to local foods,
with new community gardens and a farmers’ market to address priority health
challenges such as obesity. 
The Rabbit Valley Farmers Market, Inc. in Ringgold, Georgia intends to improve
community awareness about the market and related food programs on childhood
health, nutrition education, improved food access and more.  
The City of Wellston, Ohio has proposed a centrally located downtown open-air
market reutilizing a vacant city-owned lot. 
More detailed descriptions of each community’s goals are included below. 
In all six communities, EPA’s Office of Community Revitalization will
convene federal, state, regional and local partners for two-day in-person
workshops. This assistance will improve public health by increasing access to
healthy foods for families and create jobs while protecting the environment.
EPA’s Local Foods, Local Places program also helps to integrate food-system
assets into communities, boosting local revitalization efforts and encouraging
more active lifestyles, thereby improving overall quality of life, especially
within marginalized communities. The program emphasizes sustainable food
systems and expands economic opportunity, especially for local growers and
value-added food processor entrepreneurs. 
A pool of applicants from Appalachia was identified building upon a
long-standing and productive relationship between EPA and ARC.
“Increasing the availability of locally grown foods not?only provides
healthy options for the residents of our Appalachian communities, but also
spurs economic diversification across the region,” said Gayle Manchin, ARC
Federal Co-Chair. “I’m heartened to know that ARC’s partnership with EPA
will continue to support Appalachia’s longstanding agriculture industry and
create new job opportunities.” 
Three communities that will receive Local Foods, Local Places technical
assistance (Ringgold, Georgia; Wellston, Ohio; Turner Station in Baltimore
County, Maryland) are also participating in an innovative new pilot program
through EPA’s Superfund Redevelopment Program. The Superfund Redevelopment
Program provides technical assistance to support holistic planning, reuse and
redevelopment at or near Superfund sites. The program works with communities
on project planning and design to utilize spaces outside Superfund site
boundaries to address legacy environmental justice issues. This technical
assistance will support communities seeking increased healthy food access,
community connections and overall revitalization and economic recovery near
designated Superfund sites.   
“Communities that have faced long-term impacts from local Superfund sites
may be ideal candidates for participation in the Local Foods, Local Places
program,” said Cliff Villa, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Land and
Emergency Management. “These three pilot workshops will help communities
learn how the program can help them provide healthy local foods and benefit
the local economy.” 
Since 2014, the Local Foods, Local Places program has provided assistance to
137 communities across the country.  
Communities Selected for 2024 Local Foods, Local Places Program Technical
Assistance 
EPA Region 3 
The County of Braxton, West Virginia is working with the town of Sutton to
expand its farmers market and transform a two-acre Main Street space,
identified through a Brownfields assessment, into a mixed-use community
building. The revitalized site would connect Sutton’s downtown with a
trailhead to the new Elk River Rail Trail. The project coordinates with other
efforts, including the Sutton Main Street program, ARC Partnerships for
Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization Initiative grants and
EPA Brownfield grant resources for land revitalization planning.
“This award will enable Sutton and Braxton County to develop a stronger,
more robust plan to create a farm-to-market strategy. It will strengthen our
capacity to develop a community-based food market and to increase access to
healthy foods for our citizens,” said Lisa Godwin, Braxton County Commission
President. “Local Foods, Local Places will help us expand local agriculture
production, foster community engagement?and enhance economic
opportunities.” 
The city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is seeking assistance to engage residents
and stakeholders to reimagine the Carrick Neighborhood Farmers Market, located
in a neighborhood facing several social and economic challenges. Local Foods,
Local Places assistance will help ensure the new market meets the needs of the
community and yields greater participation of residents. The effort will
improve neighborhood access to healthy foods, support local growers, and
provide a safe urban green space for community gatherings. 
The site may also be utilized to support a local composting pilot program.
“The City of Pittsburgh is very excited for the opportunity to engage with
EPA to wrap our arms around the Carrick Farmers Market and work with
neighbors, our market vendors, and community partners to make this market a
thriving asset in the community,” said Kathryn Vargas, Director, Department
of Parks and Recreation. “We hope that this opportunity can serve as a model
for community and stakeholder engagement for our other Neighborhood Farmers
Markets.” 
Turner Station in Baltimore County, Maryland?is a predominantly African
American neighborhood impacted by the Bear Creek Sediments Superfund site and
most recently the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.? In partnership with
the?Turner Station Conservation Teams, the community seeks to create more
opportunities for healthy food access through a Turner Station food access and
aggregation plan. This includes redevelopment of Logan Village Shopping
Center, which previously housed a neighborhood grocery store, and expanding
food production by implementing a watering system for the Turner Station
community garden.?
The effort aligns with a larger commitment to address community needs by
elevating residents’ voices to county and state leaders, a key goal even
before the bridge collapse focused attention on the community.
“It has been almost 5 years since Turner Station lost our closest grocery
store and the community was classified as food insecure,” said Gloria E.
Nelson, President of Turner Station Conservation Teams, Inc. “Ensuring our
residents have access to fresh, healthy food is imperative, so we are excited
by the opportunities the partnership with EPA’s Local Foods, Local Places
program will provide, in elevating resident voices and advocating for critical
community infrastructure.” 
EPA Region 4 
The town of Spring City, Tennessee, plans to bring together several local
groups to improve access to local foods, with new community gardens and a
farmers’ market to address priority health challenges such as obesity. The
work will be coordinated with downtown revitalization planning efforts to
create community gardens as green infrastructure, to mitigate flooding risks
and promote community gathering places.
“The Town of Spring City is proud to have been selected to be part of the
Local Foods, Local Places program,” said Stephania Motes, City Manager.
“Our focus will be to create a farmers market and a community garden to help
meet community needs as well as to boost our downtown revitalization efforts
and to Agri-tourism in the area.” 
The Rabbit Valley Farmers Market, Inc. in Ringgold, Georgia, envisions farmers
markets not only as a place to purchase fresh local foods, support local
agriculture and promote healthier lifestyles, but also as a community
gathering place for socialization, celebration and connection. The farmer’s
market is seeking to collaborate with a more diverse set of local partners to
improve community awareness about the market and related food programs on
childhood health, nutrition education, improved food access and utilizing
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
Other local environmental education initiatives include composting, water
conservation and community gardening. “My hope for this project is to create
a more community-centered downtown and market, with a collective focus on
health, wellbeing, environmental stewardship and service to others,” said
Samantha Leslie, Executive Director of the Rabbit Valley Farmers Market. 
EPA Region 5 
The City of Wellston, Ohio, has proposed a centrally located downtown open-air
market. Reutilizing a vacant city-owned lot that was originally the industrial
Milton Coal and Furnace Company site, the new market would improve
residents’ access to healthy food options. It complements local efforts to
develop more complete streets and bike path networks, an Ohio Department of
Transportation grant for streetscape improvements to better accommodate people
with disabilities, and renovation of the old train depot as a community
center.
“This project will not only benefit the citizens of Wellston, but
potentially the entirety of Jackson and Vinton Counties,” said Mindy
Barry-Eisnaugle, Administrative Assistant for the City of Wellston. “This
will assist in our downtown revitalization and tourism efforts, all while
providing our residents with healthier access to healthier food options and
recreational opportunities.” 
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