Accelerating Appalachia is on a mission to rebuild the regional production of food, fiber, and forest sheds in South/Central Appalachia, North America’s most diverse foodshed. Since its inception, they have worked with over 100 businesses reaching over 2,000 farmers. Accelerating Appalachia supports a wide variety of farmers, including BIPOC, LGBTQUIA+, and women-led operations focused on providing their local community with food, clothing, shelter, and health services.

On September 14, 2022, they were awarded a $20 million Climate Smart Commodities Grant for their project proposal Building Soil, Building Equity: Accelerating a Regenerative Agriculture Movement Across Appalachia and the Rural South. As the primary awardee, Accelerating Appalachia will work with their partners to provide funding to help underserved and BIPOC farmers adopt regenerative agricultural practices and report on carbon drawdown, soil health, water retention, and other key indicators for over five years.

This bridge loan from Foodshed Capital will allow Accelerating Appalachia to kick-start their work building capacity and expanding services to clients until they receive reimbursement from the USDA in Summer 2023.