Traditional Appalachian foodways can carry us into the future

Traditional Appalachian...

It’s been said that the only thing Appalachians have done longer than mine coal is grow food. The oral histories of this region will attest to that: The granny who canned all her harvest for winter in the canning house that still stands; the father who tended his garden all summer...
Eastern Kentucky reporter is optimistic about the possibilities in her community

Eastern Kentucky report...

“With the start of this new year, I’ve given myself permission to dream big – not only for my own life, but also for our entire region.” That’s how Hazard Herald reporter Mindy Beth Miller starts her most recent column for the Hazard, Ky., newspaper.  She’s...
“Booming” local foods sector needs support to become “economic engine”

“Booming” l...

MACED’s third strategy brief – released today – focuses on the local foods movement in eastern Kentucky, which truly is booming. A new farmers market in the region seems to open every summer. Local butcher shops, like JW Farms The Chop Shop in Hazel Green, are...
Ex-Pat Appalachian’s Story can Help with Transition

Ex-Pat Appalachian̵...

“I don’t know whether I’m part of Appalachia anymore, but Appalachia is part of me,” says Graham Shelby in a wonderful Lexington Herald-Leader essay published last week. It’s a refrain so many young Appalachian ex-pats find themselves saying. There is a pull to the place, but...
The “Creative Class” in Appalachia

The “Creative Cla...

Big cities get a lot of attention for attracting the “creative class,” those folks who make their living in the arts, design, architecture or other creative fields. Much has been made of the importance of attracting this community, because, as the Daily Yonder says,”the...
‘Looking at Appalachia’ allows others to see region through Appalachian peoples’ lens

‘Looking at Appal...

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty, and the retrospectives about how far (or how little) Appalachia has come have been pouring out of national media outlets like the poverty pictures of 1964 Appalachia poured out into the national psyche. Some of these...
Appalachia’s ethnic and racial diversity should play role in economic future

Appalachia’s ethn...

With the rise of reality television shows focusing on rural areas and the recent 50th Anniversary of the War on Poverty, stereotypes about Appalachia have resurfaced on the national scene with a vengeance. It’s been hard for Appalachia to combat these pervasive images and perceptions,...