How do arts and the food system intersect? As a way to share stories, connect communities, and build resiliency.

Throughout August and September, the Roanoke Foodshed Network is providing support for members of the RFN and the Roanoke arts community to host a series of community-based arts and cultural events around food and farming. This work is made possible through the City of Roanoke Arts and Culture funding, AgrAbility Virginia, and support from the Virginia Tech Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation and LEAP.

Local artists are hosting culture-building events to help residents enter into a larger dialogue exploring struggles, achievements, possibilities, and dreams for our food system.

"The arts connect us," says Meighan Sharp, chair of the Roanoke Arts Commission. "They bring us together to form common experiences, understand our place in the world, and pursue our shared goals."

Find out more and register for these events:

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Farm Dinner Theater

OkraFest, featuring a CommUnity-ArtsReach production

Rhythms of the Land film screening and community panel discussion

Carilion Clinic’s Fall Harvest Festival, featuring a CommUnity-ArtsReach production

Questions? Email Maureen McGonagle at mo@leapforlocalfood.org.

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