Major Community Workshop Coming to Downtown Henderson

WIZS Staff

8 years ago

The city of Henderson is hosting a two-day community workshop to develop a plan for using local foods to support downtown revitalization. The workshop will focus on planning for a downtown farmers market and public space, but will also explore ways to improve walkability, promote downtown, and identify next steps in developing other food-related enterprises that could support economic and community development.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), US Department of Transportation (DOT), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), and Delta Regional Authority (DRA) selected Henderson for the Local Foods, Local Places technical assistance program, which will result in an action plan for strengthening our downtown through local foods.

A team of these agency partners and their consultants will join local stakeholders to conduct a workshop in Henderson on June 6^th and 7^th. Your participation and knowledge of the local area is needed to help make this event a success. The workshop will bring together many key stakeholders from throughout our region to develop an action plan primarily around, but not limited to, these goal areas:

Design a Thriving Place: Create a vision for the site of the downtown farmers market and surrounding area
Sustain a Thriving Market: Management and growth strategy for the downtown farmers market
Connect People to Downtown: Promote the place, improve walkability, and provide education and entertainment programs at the farmers market that draw in more people
Plan for Additional Programs that Use Food to Build Community: Identify next steps towards long term goals of a grocery store, community kitchen, and community gardens in the downtown

The workshop will include presentations on community livability and the roles that local foods play in supporting it, plus small group working sessions and discussions on the community’s vision and goals, and specific actions for reaching them. The workshop will lay out an action plan for moving forward.

Who: Stakeholders and community leaders such as you, local residents, and elected officials; along with representatives of EPA, USDA, DRA and contractors from Renaissance Planning.
What: Discussions on local foods and community livability, group work sessions, and networking that will result in an Action Plan.
Day 1 Evening Session: Tuesday, June 6^th from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at Perry Memorial Library (Farm Bureau Room)
Day 2 Action Planning Work Sessions: Wednesday, June 7^th from 9:00 AM to Noon and 1:00 to 4:00 PM at Perry Memorial Library (Farm Bureau Room)
Please RSVP: Contact Carolyn Powell, Director of Henderson-Vance Downtown Development Commission by email at carolyn.powell@hendersondowntown.com or phone at (252) 810-9785 to RSVP for the workshop.