Completed & Foundational Work

Nourish West Virginia's work today builds upon nearly two decades of investment in nutrition education, workforce development, food-system infrastructure, producer and market development, and institutional collaboration. These investments have strengthened the expertise, partnerships, educational resources, and infrastructure that continue to inform our work at the intersection of food, health, healthcare, and community development.

Shared Use Kitchen Internship & Network

Builds food manufacturing and processing workforce capacity through student experiential learning and specialized training, including Better Process Control School.

• Focus Areas:

  • Workforce Development

  • Education

  • Food Processing

• Funder/Support: USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture

• Role: Govindan, PI

• Period: 2021–2026

• Status: Current

Working Lands of Central Appalachia

Advanced land access, Farm Link development, producer viability, and connections between agricultural producers and institutional markets

• Focus Areas:

  • Producer Capacity

  • Land Access

  • Institutional Markets

  • Anchor Institutions

• Funder/Support: USDA Farm Service Agency

• Role: Govindan, PI

• Period: 2024–2026

• Status: Federal program terminated; under national litigation

Reframing an Equitable Local Food System

Strengthened the foundation for equitable food-system development, farmer viability, and economic opportunity for Appalachian farmers.

• Focus Areas:

  • Farmer Viability

  • Equity

  • Local Food Systems

  • Economic Opportunity

• Funder/Support: USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program

• Role: Subcontract

• Period: 2024–2026

• Status: Completed & Foundational

Mountains to Metropolis

Strengthened regional market development and connections between West Virginia value-added products and larger market opportunities.

• Focus Areas:

  • Market Development

  • Value-Added Products

  • Regional Food Systems

• Funder/Support: USDA Regional Food System Partnership Program

• Role: Subcontract

• Period: 2021–2026

• Status: Completed & Foundational

Regional Food System Development Professionals

Built professional and educational capacity for regional food-system development.

• Focus Areas:

  • Workforce

  • Higher Education

  • Food-System Capacity

• Funder/Support: USDA Higher Education Challenge Program

• Role: Govindan, Co-PI

• Period: 2021–2023

• Status: Completed & Foundational

Institutional Investment Accelerator

Developed cross-sector strategies connecting institutional community-benefit investment with community capacity and priorities.

• Focus Areas:

  • Anchor Institutions

  • Community Benefit

  • Capacity Building

  • Institutional Investment

• Funder/Support: Wallace Center at Winrock International

• Role: Govindan, P

• Period: 2020–2022

• Status: Completed & Foundational

Commercial, Home & Incubator Kitchens and Food Producer Project

Built expertise and capacity around food safety, food production, shared-use kitchens, and food-business infrastructure.

• Focus Areas:

  • Food Safety

  • Shared-Use Kitchens

  • Food Producers

  • Food Infrastructure

• Funder/Support: USDA NIFA Food Safety Outreach Program

• Role: Govindan, PI

• Period: 2018–2020

• Status: Completed & Foundational

Healthy Food Grant

Supported cold-storage infrastructure in Wayne, West Virginia, to increase aggregation and distribution of locally produced food to rural communities.

• Focus Areas:

  • Food Access

  • Aggregation

  • Distribution

  • Local Food

• Funder/Support: CSX Transportation

• Role: Govindan, PI

• Period: 2016

• Status: Completed & Foundational

Cooking Matters at the Store

Connected community nutrition education with experiential training for dietetic students through supermarket-based education.

• Focus Areas:

  • Nutrition Education

  • Workforce Development

  • Experiential Learning

• Funder/Support: Share Our Strength

• Role: Govindan, PI

• Period: 2016

• Status: Completed & Foundational

Kids Eat Right

Supported nutrition education for children and adolescents while creating community outreach opportunities for WVU dietetic students.

• Focus Areas:

  • Nutrition Education

  • Youth Health

  • Student Engagement

• Funder/Support: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

• Role: Govindan, PI

• Period: 2011–2012

• Status: Completed & Foundational

Helping H.A.N.D.

Represents an early investment in nutrition education, health awareness, and nutritious decision-making that preceded the broader Nourish portfolio.

• Focus Areas:

  • Nutrition

  • Health Promotion

  • Community Education

• Funder/Support:

  • Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

  • General Mills Champions for Healthy Kids

• Role: Govindan, PI

• Period: 2008

• Status: Completed & Foundational