Cultivating an Equitable Food SystemAt Sprouting Farms, we believe that where our food comes from—and how we get it—matters. Food is many things. It’s a method of passing on traditions, making memories, and bringing people together around the same table. Of course, it’s also the literal stuff that keeps us in motion‚ and sustains us in our day-to-day life. In much the same way, farms play a crucial role in sustaining the many systems of which we’re all a part. They’re spaces of transformation where livelihoods and futures are forged. |
Sprouting Farms is more than just a farmWe’re a group of farmers, educators, advocates, and entrepreneurs who’re in the business of growing farms, as well as increasing food access and feeding people good food. By providing producers with critical training and resources and building connections to local markets, we’re planting the seeds of a healthier, stronger, and more sustainable future—both for those who grow and those who eat. |
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Our MissionWith the demand for nutritious, locally-grown food steadily on the rise in West Virginia, opportunities for agricultural and economic development are plentiful. Through programs that combine education, business support, resource sharing, and land, market, and food access, we seek to develop new and existing farm businesses and increase sustainable food production statewide. Ultimately, our objective is to grow regional prosperity by supporting the growth and success of local agriculture—thereby creating more well-paying jobs and ensuring that all West Virginians, regardless of income level, can enjoy healthy, local food.
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Our VisionWhen West Virginia’s farms and farmers have the tools they need to nourish our communities with food grown from the land we live on, our entire region will thrive.
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Our Team
John ArcherJohn Archer leads our production crew, production planning, and administration.
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Rebecca CrispinRebecca is our interim Executive Director and grants manager.
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Marcus McGuire Marus leads our farm production crew and supports our apprenticeship program.
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Beth VillersBeth manages the Food Access Program, which includes our farm stand, mobile farmers market, and pop-up markets.
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Natasha SandellAccountant
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Darlene BraggProduction Crew Member
darlene@sproutingfarm.org Darlene is our truck driver, production crew member, and greenhouse manager. |
Board of Directors
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Eric Fitts | Board Treasurer
Eric is the Director of Bethlehem Farm (bethlehemfarm.net), a small Catholic nonprofit in Clayton, WV. Bethlehem hosts groups of high school and college volunteers on service-retreats. Bethlehem Farm has a mission to transform lives through service with the local community and the teaching of sustainable practices. Eric has worked in agriculture and local food systems since 1999. He has a Masters in Public Administration with a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from West Virginia University, which affords him a strong base of knowledge and robust professional network in the region. Annie Stroud | Board President Annie grew up on a sheep farm in Greenbrier County WV and is currently Project Manager for the Buzz Food Service Appalachian Abattoir in Charleston WV. She has expertise in local food systems research and assessment, resource access, rural business development, business and implementation planning, and farm business service through her past work with Downstream Strategies and the Value-Chain Cluster Initiative. She was a founding team member of Sprouting Farms and is humbled to be back serving as Board President. Spencer Moss | Board Vice-President Spencer’s roots in agriculture run deep and family happenstance has committed her to supporting those who want to feed their communities and enjoy farming as a livelihood find the resources to do so. After spending two years developing food security projects in central and southern Appalachia, she joined the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition in 2015, where she now serves as the Executive Director. Spencer holds a B.S. in Communications from Missouri Western State University and a Masters in Public Administration with an emphasis in Local Governance and Community Development from West Virginia University. |
Ashley Matheny | Board Secretary
Ashley Matheny is a Master’s level licensed psychologist who works primarily with adults suffering from substance abuse. Ms. Matheny previously worked in Logan, WV and has recently taken employment with Coplin Health in Wirt and Jackson County. While In Logan, WV Ms. Matheny assisted one facilitating the development of the Fresh Start program which pairs substance abuse treatment with gardening opportunities. Bethany Lewis | Board Member Bethany received a MA in Applied Community Change with a concentration in conservation from Future Generations University. She has since worked in the local food and agriculture system previously as fiscal manager of Refresh Appalachia serving communities in Lincoln, Mingo, and Wayne Counties and currently has served as the Operations Director for the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition since 2019. She received her B.A. in Spanish and International Relations from Bethany College and served in the Peace Corps in Mali, West Africa as an environmental extension agent for two years. Sierra Cox | Board Member A Parkersburg, West Virginia native, Sierra Cox graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2010 and commissioned as a Surface Warfare Officer. She served at Naval Station San Diego aboard USS BOXER (LHD-4) and USS McCLUSKY (FFG-41) completing a 2011 Western Pacific deployment and a 2014 Counter-Illicit Trafficking deployment. Sierra moved back to her home state of West Virginia after leaving the Navy, and purchased Wonder Valley Farm in 2017 where she, her husband, John, and their daughter, Izabella, grow veggies and herbs, keep bees, cultivate non-timber forest products, and care for a menagerie of animals. She worked with the WV Food and Farm Coalition from 2019-2021 and now serves as the Veterans and Heroes to Agriculture Program Manager for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture. |
Incubator Farmers
Natasha Zoe
The oldest of ten children, Natasha grew up on a homestead in Mineral County where she was responsible for tending to an acre-large garden and menagerie of animals. But it wasn’t until retiring from the marine corps and moving back to West Virginia that she became seriously interested in farming herself.
Natasha joined the Incubator Program in the middle of the pandemic and has since signed a lease on roughly a dozen greenhouses. She's now working to establish a farm collective with her dad and close friend, Michelle. Old varieties, heirlooms, co-planting, sustainability, and permaculture are a few of the collective’s specialties. |
Tamara EskridgeTamara Eskridge first discovered her passion for agriculture as a child on her parents’ dairy farm in Florida. When she moved to West Virginia several decades later to be closer to her grown-up daughter and young granddaughter, she wanted to keep the tradition going. She started leasing high tunnels from Sprouting Farms, and her personal farm business—which revolves around cultivating vegetables and a few animals, too—took off. Tamara is excited about the future and grateful for the opportunity to watch her grandchildren and farm flourish.
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Greg GrimGreg Grim grew up gardening with his mom in Maryland and became fascinated with permaculture after spending a year on a farm in Nicaragua. When he learned about the launch of Incubator Program in 2017, he packed up his things and moved to West Virginia in hopes of taking his farming skills to the next level.
In between building houses and pursuing a certificate in nursing, Greg is focused on growing as much of his own food as possible. Depending on the season, Greg’s high tunnel is filled with raspberries, garlic, a variety of herbs, husk cherries and tomatillos, strawberries, figs, mulberries, broccoli, melons, radishes, turnips, fennel, ginger, turmeric, peas, and more. |
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Sprouting Farms
4661 Rt 3 & 12 Talcott WV, 24981 (304) 466 5175 Check out our latest events on Facebook. |
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