2026 Appalachian Foodways Practitioner Fellows:
Keyarna “Chef Ke” Frederick
Appalachian and Soul Food chef, culinary entrepreneur, and community food advocate
Dunbar, WV
Siara Benoit and Takia Gaylord, Kinfolk Heritage Farm
Growers, land stewards, and keepers of ancestral culinary and birth practices
Mathias, WV
Candace and Lucas Wiggin, Maple Grove Farm of Afton
Third-generation farmers and small-batch maple syrup producers
Afton, TN
Jasmine Thompson
Naturalist, conservationist, environmental storyteller, founder of the Woolbank Conservancy
Crawford County, PA
2025 Appalachian Foodways Practitioner Fellows:
The New Opportunity School for Women – Sam Cole, Development and Communications Coordinator, Berea, KY
Gardening, canning, nutrition, and health education in Eastern Kentucky
Chris Smith, Leicester, NC
Seed saver, permaculturist, author of the James Beard Award-winning book The Whole Okra, and Executive Director of the Utopian Seed Project
Ronnie Marie Tartt, McDowell County, WV
Homemaker, grower, cook, entrepreneur, keeper of traditional foodways knowledge, creator of “Mama’s Meat Sauce,” available through Appalachian Gold.
Marcus West, Franklin, NC
Farmer, butcher, and keeper of his family’s legacy caring for the land in Western North Carolina’s Cowee West’s Mill Community.
2024 Appalachian Foodways Practitioner Fellows:
Jim Embry, Richmond, KY
Social and environmental justice activist, farmer, Founder and Director of the Sustainable Communities Network, and James Beard Foundation Leadership Award winner
Dr. Mehmet Öztan, Reedsville, WV
Seed keeper, farmer, scholar, and Founder of Two Seeds in a Pod Heirloom Seed Company and the Anatolian Seeds Recovery and Preservation Project
Bea Sias, Logan County, WV
Gardener, home gardening educator, advocate, and Grow Appalachia Coordinator at Step by Step WV
2023 Appalachian Foodways Practitioner Fellows:
- Femeika Elliott: Knoxville, Tennessee
- Sergio Herrera: Mifflintown, Pennsylvania
- Jason B. Tartt, Sr.: Berwind, West Virginia
2022 Appalachian Foodways Practitioner Fellows:
- Yawah Awolowo: Knoxville, Tennessee
- Travis and Rebecka Fugate: Emmalena, Kentucky
- Wayne Riley: London, Kentucky