David's Story

The director of Grow Appalachia, David Cooke ’82, was born in Mingo County, West Virginia, the youngest child of a coal miner and a school teacher. After graduating from Berea College, he obtained a master's degree from WVU, and has worked as a high school teacher, woodworker, and county extension agent.

David, founder of Grow Appalachia, first began to consider how to combat food insecurity when he worked in outreach education in southern West Virginia. “I had always worried about the fact that our families are not food secure,” he said. “They’re worried about where their food is going to come from, they’re worried about the quality and safety of food, but at the same time, over the previous 30 years, people had forgotten how to grow their own food.”

Though Appalachia’s overall economic conditions have shown some improvement since the 1960s, the recent recession hit the region hard. The unemployment rate in central Appalachia remains well above 10 percent, and chronic underemployment and workforce withdrawal rates are much higher. Per capita income in central Appalachia is 30 percent lower than the national average, and upwards of 25 percent of families fall under the federal poverty line, according to the Appalachian Regional Commission’s data. Grow Appalachia supports this poorest part of the region, where basic needs too often go unmet, by helping people grow as much of their own food as possible.

David believed with a little help and support, people in the region would embrace the opportunity to grow their own food. And, it turns out, he was right. Once he secured funding for the program, thanks to John Paul DeJoria—co-founder and CEO of John Paul Mitchell Systems and founder of the Peace, Love & Happiness Foundation—it took off. He reflected on the program’s mission, “We believe in meeting people where they are, working with them to build upon their strengths, and because of this, we have been able to confront and address many of the major problems associated with food insecurity.”

Having recognized the need for healthier, homegrown food within the region for many years, David was interested when this opportunity arose. He stated, “It had struck me that there were fewer and fewer gardens even though malnutrition, food security, and hunger issues continued to be more striking every year.” The development of Grow Appalachia would provide him with the chance to change that trend.

During the first year, DeJoria and David worked together to develop a program designed to meet the needs and build on the strengths of existing community centers in Appalachia. David sought out partnerships with nonprofit organizations that demonstrated fiscal responsibility and an interest in food security issues. Even as Grow Appalachia has expanded, those standards have stayed consistent. The program now serves a diverse population of participants, ranging from Girl Scouts to the elderly and from the disabled to the incarcerated.

During their first year of operation in 2010, Grow Appalachia participants at four partner sites in Kentucky grew 120,000 pounds of food for more than 2,800 people. The following year, the partnership expanded to Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, producing food for 3,694 people.

Today, Grow Appalachia is comprised of 32 chapters in communities across the Appalachian region. It helps them produce nutritious foods in an inexpensive way year-round. David estimates that to date these communities have grown 2.9 million pounds of food.

“There are many facets of Grow Appalachia,” he said, but “most importantly, it provides food security to families, teaches growers to share, and encourages self-sustainability.” He takes pride in knowing the program is “bringing to light the lost ways of farming of Appalachia’s past generations” and increasing many participants’ sense of cultural self-worth by exposing the falsity of negative stereotypes that portray all Appalachians as unhealthy and dependent.

While debunking old stereotypes is important, David's eyes are firmly on the future of the region and how Grow Appalachia can continue to support families and create self-sustaining agriculture. According to him, the organization is on pace to “provide roughly around 600,000 pounds of food to nearly 1,500 families this year.” These farmers will realize a profit of $200,000 from selling excess produce, which will provide them the necessary funds to purchase garden supplies for the following year. But, simply growing food will not solve all the problems.

A continual challenge for each chapter of Grow Appalachia is finding the best way to serve the needs in individual communities. Along with fresh food and new skills, Grow Appalachia provides its communities with full- and part-time jobs, employing men and women as gardening coordinators, field workers, and site supervisors.

Focusing on providing education, resources, and tools, Grow Appalachia has engaged all types of people, introducing them to new and more efficient ways to raise food and, in many cases, doubling or even tripling the average crop yield. “We have changed the way people garden in these areas,” said David. “We have brought organic gardening to areas where it was once unheard of.”

Grow Appalachia achieves some of its success based on the development of new techniques like the household scale high tunnel, an unheated greenhouse that helps extend the growing season. This innovative design allows families to put homegrown food on the table year-round. The Natural Resources Conservation Service has accepted Grow Appalachia as a vendor, and Berea College is now providing Grow Appalachia with space to build and sell these specialized high tunnels.

Grow Appalachia’s educational component complements the technical assistance and material resources offered to participants. Each partner site is required to teach a yearly minimum of five education classes on gardening, food preservation, and heart-healthy cooking, which participants are required to attend. “Folks really enjoy these classes,” David said. “They are social events for a lot of communities. People love coming to the classes. They get to see people, they have potlucks, they get to learn something new, and they share what they know.”

Based on material originally published in the following sources: