Virginia Farm to Table Conference 2026
“Resilient Farms and Healthy Foods for the Commonwealth and Common Good”
Tuesday, December 8 and Wednesday, December 9 | 9:00 am- 4:30 pm
Blue Ridge Community College Plecker Workforce Center
One College Lane, Weyers Cave, Virginia 24486
Registration opens September 1: https://tinyurl.com/2026VAF2TConferenceReg
This year we’ll talk about strengthening the resilience and connections between farms, food, and health for the Commonwealth and the common good. Conference topics will include presentations, conversation, and discussions around regenerative agriculture, soil health, resilience and the convergence of food systems issues, local and regional food system development, heritage grain varieties, regional value chain connections, and everyday opportunities to impact health in the farm and food system. Producers and practitioners will share their local and regional expertise and perspectives on concurrent session panels.
Featured Speakers and Panelists
Michael Rozyne & Kelsey Gosch
Red Tomato and EcoCertified
Michael Rozyne is founder of Red Tomato, a regional food hub based in Providence, RI that sources from 40 mid-sized fruit and vegetable farms, and distributes primarily to supermarkets, as well as institutions such as schools, hospitals and food banks. RT’s signature program is EcoCertified(TM), verifying local and sustainably-grown apples and peaches. He is manager of the Farming & Food Narrative Project, a social science research project aimed at effective communications with a public audience. In 1986, Rozyne co-founded the fair trade food company Equal Exchange, a worker-owned cooperative.
Kelsey Gosch is the Development and Program Manager of Red Tomato. She supports key projects like the Bypass Network and the Farming and Food Narrative Project. Learn more about Kelsey and her work here.
Bob Jones Jr.
The Chef’s Garden
As so many farmers do, Bob Jones wears many hats at The Chef’s Garden, but they all guide the organization in practices that have made the farm one of the most innovative and well-respected in the world. He is a co-owner and Chief Executive Officer of The Chef’s Garden, which has always been family-owned and devoutly committed to growing exceptional vegetables. Bob champions the farm team’s cutting-edge food safety and food quality programs, making the products grown at The Chef’s Garden some of the industry’s most reliably healthy, safe, and nutritionally dense fresh vegetables. Learn more about Bob and his work here.
Julia Freedgood
American Farmland Trust, Senior Fellow and Senior Program Advisor
Duron Chavis
Urban Farmer // Educator // Change Maker, Founder of Happily Natural Day
Photo courtesy of Happily Natural Day website.
Chef Radelle Reese
Chef Instructor/Assistant to the Chair and Department of Hospitality Management
Photo courtesy of VSU College of Agriculture website.
Learn about Chef Radelle Reese’s work.
Heather Bruskin
Director of Food Systems Resilience in Montgomery County, Maryland
Lodging Options
Approx. miles from the venue: 8.0 mi
Approx. miles from the venue: 12.4 mi
Hampton Inn – Harrisonburg South
Approx. miles from the venue: 9.8 mi
Best Western Plus Harrisonburg
Approx. miles from the venue: 10.0 mi
Approx. miles from the venue: 15.0 mi
Double Tree by Hilton Harrisonburg
Approx. miles from the venue: 15.0 mi
Address: 1400 E. Market Street, Harrisonburg, Virginia, 22801, USA
Holiday Inn Express options in Harrisonburg, Staunton, and Waynesboro
Harrisonburg: 196 Burgess Road, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22801
Staunton: 47 Rolling Thunder Lane, Staunton, Virginia 24401
Waynesboro: 108 Chicurel Lane, Waynesboro, Virginia 22980
Avid Hotels Staunton – an IHG Hotel
Approx. miles from the venue: 15.0 mi
Address: 62 Sangers Lane, Staunton, Virginia 24401 United States
Candlewood Suites Harrisonburg – an IHG Hotel
Approx. miles from the venue: 15.0 mi
Address: 1560 Country Club Road, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22801
Conference Hosts & Partners
The conference is presented by the Virginia Cooperative Extension in partnership with the Virginia Soil Health Coalition, VT School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, the VT Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation, Virginia State University’s Small Farm Outreach Program, Virginia Sustainable Agriculture Research Education (SARE), Blue Ridge Community College, and community partners.
Hosts
Eric S. Bendfeldt, Virginia Cooperative Extension and the VT Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation
Mary Sketch Bryant, Virginia Tech and the Virginia Soil Health Coalition
Partners
Thank you to our sponsors and partners!
Music and Networking
An evening networking event will be hosted by the Virginia Soil Health Coalition.
On Tuesday, December 8, join us for an evening of community, networking, and a jam session at The Granary at Valley Pike Farm Market from 5 pm – 7 pm. The Common Grain Alliance and the Virginia Heritage Grains Project will share a brief presentation.
Valley Pike Farm Market is home to a local farmers market, coffee shop, bakery, deli, and wine & beer shop. The barn is over 100 years old and has been restored with great care. David Gardner, a local farmer saved the Sellers barn from demolition to make way for large-scale commercial development. Learn more about David’s work and the venue here.
Virginia Farm to Table 