CEO Supports Local, Sustainable Enterprise!

The Center for Economic Options (CEO) is an independent non profit organization in West Virginia. CEO works with entrepreneurs and innovators who share a commitment to development that is socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.

For nearly 25 years we have supported and encouraged local, sustainable business development. Our enterprise models have always connected businesses to markets and resources. We also work to make sure that people understand why local, sustainable businesses matter - to our communities, our economy, and our environment.

With awareness of the growing green economy and issues related to our environment, CEO has developed an enterprise support program - the Green Business, Green Jobs Accelerator (the Accelerator) - to help entrepreneurs start and expand sustainable businesses, create jobs, and contribute to the health and wealth of their communities. Initially, the Accelerator will provide resources, training, and technical assistance in four major industry sectors - Local Food, Sustainable Energy, Green Building and Renovation, and Sustainable Forestry.

CEO has been awarded a start-up challenge grant from the blue moon fund and we will be launching the Accelerator's website soon.

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Local food Directory Survey

In November 2009, several organizations including the Center for Economic Options, Natural Capital Investment Fund, and the Collaborative for the 21st Century, co-sponsored a convening on local food entitled"Growing Local Foods: Enhancing the Local Food System for Economic Development in West Virginia". This event was funded by the Benedum Foundation. The 130 participants at the convening identified the need for better communication and information about each other as a priority.

In response, we decided to compile the "West Virginia Local Food Directory" to help facilitate connections between food businesses, farmers, processors, distributors, support services, markets and others interested in local food. This directory will be distributed to survey respondents and widely circulated electronically.

Since the event, we have focused on broadening the outreach beyond those who attended in November. Your participation in this survey is important and we would like to include your responses in the first West Virginia Local Food Directory. If you know of anyone who would benefit from taking this survey and being included in the directory, please forward contact information to info@economicoptions.org.

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Making the Connections for $$ and Health...

Local Food to Schools

CEO is working collaboratively to build sustainable local food systems. This includes helping to put the pieces in place for schools to include locally grown and processed food in their meal offerings and for local farm entrepreneurs to have incomes from these dependable regional markets.

An important part of our work is to offer public information and ideas for consideration, such as the following letter to the editor that CEO sent to the Charleston Daily Mail:

"British chef Jamie Oliver and his “Food Revolution” came to our state to film a reality show about reconnecting people with the food they eat. His focus on increasing fresh foods served in school lunches has sparked debate and has been referenced in both a recent article and commentary.

But the conversation started long before Oliver’s plane touched down at Tri-State Airport. Over the past few years, 9,000 schools in 43 states – including West Virginia -- have figured out how to bring fresh, local produce to their students. In Jefferson County in the Eastern Panhandle, and around the country, schools have found that serving fresh local food is possible, it can be affordable, and it is healthier for our children and youth." Read more...

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Alternatives Newsletter - Local Food Special Edition - January 2010   

CEO's Newsletter Special Issue - Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards

CEO Newsletter

Want to know more? Check out our successful history of small scale sustainable business development.

Working throughout the region:

CEO is a founding member of the Central Appalachian Network (CAN) which is a collaboration of seven non-profit organizations working toward environmentally, economically, and socially sound community sustainable development. CAN is moving forward to increase the impact and potential benefits for this regional work.

Special Initiative: Sustainable Agriculture - Creating a Local Food System

CEO is working collaboratively with our CAN partners to build local food systems in our states and the region.

Growing a Local Food System from the Ground Up.

On April 14-15, 2009 CAN hosted a gathering of small-scale farmers, non profit intermediaries, funders, and consumers in Roanoke, West Virginia to discuss opportunities for developing local food systems in the region. CAN recently published the proceedings paper that captures the highlights, images and early outcomes of this ground-breaking event.

Growing Healthy Food Systems from the Ground Up

Two other publications - Building Sustainable Economies in a Shrinking World and Building Sustainable Economies in a Shrinking World Proceedings Paper - provide additional information about CAN.

Kudos include:

• Presidential Award for Excellence in Microenterprise
• FIELD MicroMentor Initiative by the Aspen Institute
• Home-based Business Champion of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration
• Celebrate Women Award in the category of Business by the West Virginia Women's Commission
• CEO's retail social purpose model - Showcase West Virginia - was a featured site in the National Geographic Map Guide to Appalachia.