A Toolkit for Building Value Chains
“This is a very useful tool that gives step by step instruction. There isn‘t much if anything like it out there, which makes this a unique contribution. The practical first hand information in the book is great and will be useful to those trying to do this work.”
This toolkit is designed to help new and emerging healthy food system value chain efforts. While it draws heavily from the experience of Appalachian Sustainable Development, including particularly its Appalachian Harvest network, it also includes ideas, challenges and insights from other value chain and food system initiatives, both within Appalachia and other parts of the country. The toolkit is intended to be a hands-on resource which can help spur new thinking, help refine plans, and perhaps help guide implementation of new and emerging food system initiatives.
Contents
The toolkit is divided into seven sections:
Introduction
What is a Value Chain?
Getting started — A Quick but Essential Field to Table Scan
Markets — The First Leg of the Value Chain Stool
Supply — The Second Leg of the Value Chain Stool
PAD - Processing, Aggregation and Distribution — The Final Leg of the Value Chain Stool
Summary of Challenges and Lessons Learned