Lexington man also wins leadership award in Chicago

By Chris Aldridge
Kentucky Ag News

Valerie Horn walked across a stage in Chicago earlier this month as one of only six recipients across the nation to receive a National Leadership Award from the James Beard Foundation (JBF).

“It was pretty surreal to be in the crowd with those that were honored,” said Horn, a Letcher County native and Whitesburg resident. “It was very affirming to know the path that my community is on is going in the right direction. I hope it brings a bright spotlight on east Kentucky, and individuals and organizations that want to support local food access will feel comfortable to look to this community as a model.”

Horn is making fresh produce available through what she likened as “three sisters” -- Cowan Community Center, the Whitesburg/Letcher County Farmers’ Market, and CANE (Community Agricultural Nutritional Enterprises) Kitchen, a 6,500-square-foot commercial kitchen.

When a catastrophic flood hit eastern Kentucky on July 27, 2022, Horn and her team served their first free meal to those in need before the water crested.

“Valerie was up at dawn at the CANE Kitchen as flood waters rose, doing the only thing she could do at that moment -- make soup,” Horn’s colleague and friend, Lora Smith, said of her mentor. Smith nominated Horn for the award.

“I have to say I wasn’t sure she’d win,” Smith wrote in a Facebook post. “Not because the work wasn’t worthy, but because I think (there’s only one) other JBF winner in history from eastern Kentucky…. However, this year, a woman from Appalachia stood on stage with legends … and she deserved to be there.”

The historic flood, which killed 45 people in 14 eastern Kentucky counties, displaced thousands of residents. But Horn helped keep many of the individuals affected by the floods fed through CANE Kitchen.

“Over the next six months, we served over 100,000 free meals to the community,” Horn said proudly.

Sharon Spencer, director of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Direct Farm Marketing Division, called Horn “a superstar in eastern Kentucky.”

“Valerie has tackled food insecurity in her area,” Spencer said. “Valerie is all about helping her community…. Those wheels in Valerie’s mind are always turning on how to make a difference.”

Horn has been chairwoman of the farmers’ market in Whitesburg since it opened in 2014.

“We started with $6,000 in sales,” she said. “Now its $120,000 recorded, with over $100,000 in incentives.”

Partnering with Mountain Comprehensive Health Corp., the farmers’ market’s Farmacy Program provides weekly $35 vegetable and fruit “prescriptions” for 200 Letcher Countians.

“So, $7,000 walks into the farmers’ market each week for folks with diet-related health problems,” Horn said.

“What a difference this has made to the community and the health benefits of their members,” Spencer added.

Twenty-five local expectant mothers get $25 weekly vouchers to the farmers’ market through its Fresh RX program.

“We’re always looking for ways to make that fresh produce accessible,” Horn said.

Whitesburg’s farmers’ market was the first one in the nation to offer an on-site Summer Food Service Program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the COVID pandemic.

“From May to August 2020, we distributed over 750,000 meals,” Horn said. “We had 1,000 cars come though per day and served over 2,500 families and over 5,000 children in eight counties.”

After the flood, Cowan Community Center started a Kids on the Creek daycare program.

“Eight weeks after the flood, we were still the only place in (Letcher) County that offered childcare,” Horn said.

The farmers’ market employs teenagers, paying 24 high school juniors and seniors to work 30 hours per week to set up tents and tables.

Just before accepting the national leadership award, Horn emailed her team of volunteers back home.

“I'm in Chicago today and accepting an award for all of us and your investment in growing a stronger and healthier community,” Horn wrote. “I want to thank you all for providing a means for the good work to happen in our community. Without you, it would only be a dream.

“I will have one trip across the stage tonight with amazing individuals who are working to make the world a better place. Please know that I realize I am the fortunate one to carry the medal, but you have all passed the torch.”

Smith said the selfless words are typical of Horn.

“One of the things about being a mountain woman is that you don’t make a big fuss about yourself,” Smith said in her introduction speech before presenting Horn with the award. “Valerie is quick to pass the credit to her co-workers and the many hands who make this work possible.

“But today the spotlight is on you, Val. So now it’s my pleasure to invite all of y’all to make a big fuss.”

Smith said Horn has made her mark on eastern Kentucky.

“The initiatives Valerie continues to create have helped former coal miners find meaningful livelihoods in sustainable agriculture, fed hungry families, started day camps focused on the culinary traditions of Appalachia, decreased rates of disease through access to healthy foods, and created new opportunities for local entrepreneurs interested in value added products and the culinary arts,” Smith said.

Smith added the award “was for every eastern Kentuckian and our ancestors whose hands have touched earth, saved and planted a seed, fed and nourished us both figuratively and literally, kept our food traditions alive, and continue to move the land and people toward a more just future.”

Another Kentuckian, Jim Embry, also won a James Beard Foundation Leadership Award this year. He founded the Sustainable Communities Network, a Lexington-based nonprofit, in 2006. Embry has also been active in Slow Food USA and was a seven-time U.S. delegate to its biannual gathering in Italy, and he is on the administrative team of Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance. Embry will be featured in an upcoming issue of the Ag News.