Inside IALR

Building Stronger Local Food Systems

• Institute for Advanced Learning and Research

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In this episode of Inside IALR, Value Chain Coordinator Mitchell Doss highlights a new initiative aimed at strengthening Southern Virginia’s local food ecosystem. Funded by a Tobacco Commission grant, Mitchell’s work focuses on helping farmers broaden their reach to new markets while ensuring communities gain greater access to fresh, local produce and products. Hear how Mitchell’s journey—from IALR intern to horticulture researcher—shapes his approach to connecting producers, institutions, and consumers for an economically vibrant and sustainable future.

In this episode:

  • What a Value Chain Coordinator does 
  • The importance of robust local food networks for economic growth
  • Current gaps and opportunities in Southern Virginia’s food system 
  • Strategies for driving collaboration between farmers, buyers and communities
  • Details on upcoming workshops and opportunities to get involved

For more information on Mitchell’s work and how you can connect, visit IALR.org/valuechain.

The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research serves as a regional catalyst for economic transformation in Southern Virginia. Our services, programs and offerings are diverse, impactful and far reaching.

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Caleb Ayers:

Welcome to another episode of Inside IALR. Thanks for joining us today. So today we're here to talk about sort of a new up-and-coming program here at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, one that has been launched thanks to a Tobacco Commission grant. We have Mitchell Doss, who is here as our value chain coordinator. So, mitchell, thanks for being here.

Mitchell Doss:

Thank you for having me.

Caleb Ayers:

So, to start, I've talked to you a little bit about kind of what you're working on, what you're doing here. You've been here since July and you've been on a previous podcast. Your experience goes well beyond the last eight months. But tell us a little bit about kind of how your journey before you got into this current position.

Mitchell Doss:

I always have a hard time picking where to start, but the story starts in Gretna, virginia. I went to Gretna High School and, being in Pennsylvania County, we really were allowed to apply to the Academy for Engineering and Technology, or GovSchool. So that's what got me. My first introduction to the Institute was attending the Academy of Engineering and Technology and through that program it offered me an internship with Dr Lohman here at the Institute, I think around 2015, 2016, which really kind of started me on the path down science in the field of science, still not really knowing what I want to do. So after high school I attended Randolph College where I studied environmental science with double minor in engineering and data science.

Mitchell Doss:

In engineering and data science, while at Randolph I interned at the Institute once more with Samantha Smith in the Distilling Research Department where we were working with drone, doing drone flights and surveying vineyards and farmlands and that was more optics kind of going along with the smart table stuff, and then that finished. That was around 2019. So I finished up college in 2021, came and worked here a year as a through Virginia Tech as a research specialist for the Controlled Environmental Agriculture Innovation Center. After working there a year they gave me the opportunity to proceed with my master's at Virginia Tech. So, from 2022-2024, I was studying horticulture with a focus on potassium concentrations in hydroponic lettuce, as well as utilizing the smart tables to do plant imaging and robotics. And then, when I was finishing that up in 2024, this position became open and while I was doing my thesis, I applied to it and was given the opportunity, and I guess the rest is history and I've just been working and learning my new responsibilities.

Caleb Ayers:

Yeah, I think you are the poster child for IOM, for career pathways. We love to talk about those. We love to talk about internships. You are the poster child for all of that.

Mitchell Doss:

I appreciate it.

Caleb Ayers:

I try my best but I appreciate them having faith in me to assume that position of post-trial if something ever happens to you and you ever get fired or something bad happens, we're gonna have to do a lot of scrubbing on our website. Oh no, daniel's probably gonna cut that out, it's okay.

Mitchell Doss:

Don't keep it in there.

Caleb Ayers:

It adds character I'm feeling good, feeling good today. Off just reading the title value chain coordinator to me that means very little. I don't really understand what that means, just by the title, I think it's. So tell us a little bit about kind of what big picture, kind of what is? What are you trying to do, what is your role and what are you trying to do?

Mitchell Doss:

Well, that's a great question. I think the value chain coordinator position name is so vague because it's kind of answering a vague question. It's a multifaceted, multi-faceted process, a problem with multi-faceted solutions. So you know, you can apply different solutions to the problem at hand, but mine mainly with the food system, because I know there's different value chain coordinations with different, I guess, job sectors, but mine is currently trying to create a local food system that is not only robust and efficient but profitable. We're really looking out for the farmers. We want to introduce them to, I guess. Well, they currently have a marketplace, of course, because they're successful farmers, but we want to bridge the gap between, I guess, diverse marketplaces so that we can allow the farmer to introduce its locally grown produce to a new or different marketplace at their price point and at the same time gain greater access for the consumer to that locally produced, local produce. And that's pretty much the big picture and there's many ways you can go about it, but that's really just trying to promote the local farmer.

Caleb Ayers:

So promote the local farmer and make sure that basically give them, provide opportunities for them to have access to more markets and then give consumers access to more local products.

Mitchell Doss:

Exactly yeah, because in today's world you can pretty much achieve a lot of things through different perspectives and the way the current system is going. You saw with COVID, a lot of supply chains shut down and we got cut off from a lot of food and the shipments we're making. When we were in the air, we were producing this food and it just wasn't staying in the area. So I guess it's just introducing more facets to keep things local, I guess. So, yeah, that's probably the best, I guess, realm of what the job is Right.

Caleb Ayers:

I know when I talked to you a few months ago, just kind of talking about what you do here, it was very much you were in the kind of just exploring the area, researching, talking to producers, talking to people who run these kinds of um, I guess, related businesses and related um, related uh systems. So talk to me about so far kind of what, what you've seen, what you've found, what are the? Yeah, what, what have you found so far?

Mitchell Doss:

Great question. So, being boots on the ground, like the food system is already in the area, like's a, it's pretty much an ecosystem. It's going to be there regardless. It's just how healthy it is. Um, so mainly my area falls in the southern virginia region.

Mitchell Doss:

But I mean, we're not opposed to working outside the southern virginia region but, uh, within the region there's already food auctions in place, such as, uh, foothills farmers auction and, um, southern was a foot, yeah, southern virginia produce auction. One's based in Franklin County and the other one is based in Charlotte Courthouse. And then there is 4P Foods, which is kind of a little bit larger of a production. They're based in more Northern Virginia but they work with farmers as far as Southern Virginia and North Carolina. And then there's some programs out in Roanoke. There's an institution called LEAP and and they work with 4P Foods and they kind of serve the Roanoke area as kind of a food hub. So it's really kind of taking in what's in place right now, trying to see the gaps or the puzzle pieces that we can put in to connect those already established resources to our already established farmers.

Mitchell Doss:

But one thing I guess with the whole thing, uh, referencing gaps, um, I really got me an opportunity to really study what my, my, uh, I guess my position is, because I'm coming not from this field, um, so it was really really nice to really get the idea of what the initial gap was, which is how the farmers um are so big like they, they are focused, they are um best at being farmers in today's world. They're having to market themselves and sometimes they just don't have the time or resources. And then when you look at institutional buyers, sometimes they get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of farmers or if they're looking for a specialty crop. So there's a gap between that right there, which is not something you really want in a local area or in any area. So that's a gap that I feel like I've really noticed.

Mitchell Doss:

And I guess a secondary one that has kind of popped up, that's kind of built on what I've seen recently it's a smaller one is that some of the food systems that are already in place are actually really associated with religious, I guess, groups, a lot with the Mennonites and Amish and German Baptist Church. So that's going to be some interesting stuff to look toward in the future because, like I said, there's already food systems in place. So if it's not broke, don't fix it. But when you want to change food you've got to change everything, everything. And if you're coming from an area that has a lot of not only, I guess core values involved with it, it might be a little bit of a uh, a little bit interesting perspective and I look forward to kind of seeing what, how it works. But that's some stuff I've seen so far um with with, I guess, more so in the local system right?

Caleb Ayers:

well, I mean, what you're talking about is identifying gaps and you're saying that there's already a system in place, so it's not like you have to come in and blow everything up and change everything or add in a bunch of new things.

Mitchell Doss:

Exactly.

Caleb Ayers:

I would imagine a lot of what you're doing is trying to connect these existing resources.

Mitchell Doss:

Yes, exactly At the same time you're connecting but also you are creating new, because some of these local systems are such on a small scale that they can't really serve a larger area. So I can't really serve a larger area. So I'm I can't really name off all the counties that I'm involved with off the top of my head, but you know, if you're somewhere in franklin county it's gonna and you service that franklin county area as a small food auction. It's gonna be kind of hard to. I don't know, I wouldn't say kind of hard. I'm sure there's logistics you can figure out with trucking and stuff, but it's just they, not much they can service around the Halifax area. So what can we do to get the Halifax farmers and consumers getting goods from the Franklin County area? We might not be able to. So what can we mimic in one area to another that bolsters the entirety of the food system on, I guess, a more zoomed out scale versus local, like small scale local.

Caleb Ayers:

The list of localities I pulled it up here from the sweet the notes you had given me is Bedford County, brunswick County, Campbell County, charlotte County, danville, franklin County, halifax County, henry County, martinsville, mecklenburg County, patrick County, pennsylvania County, prince Edward County. Yeah, so that's a pretty large geographic footprint.

Mitchell Doss:

It is, and it's all about location, especially with logistics and the value chain coordination. You got to coordinate the logistics, so it's more or less finding solutions that help everybody. But sometimes you know you've got to think outside the box, and that's what I guess the position is all about. You know these systems are in place, but sometimes you need a different perspective.

Caleb Ayers:

And I know you're about seven, eight months in, so you're still trying to figure out all the pieces of those different systems.

Mitchell Doss:

Yes.

Caleb Ayers:

Are there any kind of next steps?

Mitchell Doss:

you're seeing goals you're setting for yourself as far as what's coming next For sure, I mean, you can always learn more With such a diverse, I guess, topic in food systems. You could always learn more, always connect with more people. So that's always a step, I feel like. But we're actually planning out a first like a farmer workshop. It's going to be called the Southern Virginia Region Food Initiative. I think right now we're aiming for.

Mitchell Doss:

April is the date.

Mitchell Doss:

It's a date in April and this is just an opportunity for us to invite some of the farmers in our area, or I mean within, I guess, driving distance of the Institute Everybody's welcome, of course and people involved with the food system to really have a chance to meet at the Institute, see what the Institute's about, but also see what my position's about, and as well as voice their opinions on what they're currently doing and what they hope can change, or what they can do is also collaborate with other farmers, because it's not just about the collaboration with the Institute.

Mitchell Doss:

If we can bring two people together in the area, that benefit off one another but I can't help them, well, that's just as beneficial as if I could help them, if you see what I'm saying.

Mitchell Doss:

So that's a really big step I'm really looking forward to because I get to see what the farmers want, and then I can take the information that the farmers give to me and really start connecting to institutional buyers or even school systems or just different facets for food, and say, hey, we have these farmers that are interested in revitalizing and changing the food system. Do you want to be a part of it and what do you need? Because I feel like you could either start with the institutions first or the farmers, but I'm really excited to start with the farmers first because I feel like that's the most important member of the I guess, the food web ecosystem. Without the farmers you wouldn't really have anything. So that's why I'm choosing to start there and that's probably the next step. That can really be a big domino that causes a later domino is the fall and shift into place.

Caleb Ayers:

Yeah. So basically, what you're saying is you're doing a lot of work connecting with those farmers and then you have that in mind that you'll be trying to I would imagine you're building some of these relationships already too, but you have that in mind to start connecting those farmers with institutional buyers, like that.

Mitchell Doss:

That's yeah, so you're self-playing yeah, and that's the thing with this is all about creation of the relationship, and that's a that's in today's world. That's rough enough as it is, because so many people have different viewpoints, but the thing is is we just want to make sure that they're heard and that we are here to help and that we can bring about a change, and we want to start with them to do that. So it's been a wonderful opportunity.

Caleb Ayers:

I love how diverse this place is and there's so many random things that don't seem like they connect together have a link together. How do you see what you do fitting into our mission of economic transformation? How does creating effective food systems and value chains fit into the mission of economic transformation for Southern Virginia?

Mitchell Doss:

That's a great question. Well, the Institute's mission to serve as an economic catalyst for the area, to drive economic growth and transformation, it really aligns with my work because we're directly contributing to the economic sustainability of local farmers. So that's producing a lot more revenue in the agriculture and you know, spending local money on local produce keeps kind of a closed-loop system, you know the money staying in the area. So I feel like with the increased revenue growing agriculture, I guess marketplace it's, it's. It's only a matter of time when economic transformation and growth follow that. So I do feel like it aligns very closely because at the same time, you know we have economic development here at the institute, we also have research.

Mitchell Doss:

I'm kind of somewhere in the middle because you know, I know my research stuff. I can tell you what's like kind of cutting edge or what. You know, what we found in certain crops and you're switching over to. If you want to switch from field crops to hydroponics, I can offer that kind of research background and you know economic development. You know, if I'm having troubles like with, I guess, understanding business sides, because I don't really have a business background, I can kind of go to them and be like, hey, how can we help this guy out? He's trying to expand or trying to get markets in this area and they might be able to offer me some information. So it kind of goes off a little bit more of how diverse we are. So we can meet diverse challenges with, I guess, diverse solutions with a diverse team.

Caleb Ayers:

Yeah, I agree 100% with what you just said and I think it's cool Tally's used the word a lot like we're a convener and a connector. I've heard that phrase said a lot and what you're doing is also that it's literally just like bringing people together to try to figure out what the solution is. You're bringing the farmers, you're going to be bringing the industrial side, you're going to be bringing these different organizations who are involved in this all to the same table, trying to figure out how, you know, how do we solve these problems? How do we and, like you said, you're you know, if it's not broke, don't fix it, but how do we improve these things?

Mitchell Doss:

How do we improve these?

Caleb Ayers:

things. Um, that's really cool. Um, what have been some of the and I know, like you know, like you said, I'll know a lot of what you're doing right now is kind of preliminary work, figuring out what needs to be done what the Well?

Mitchell Doss:

personally for me it's just not to sound vague, but I don't have much background in this other than I know plants and I can talk to a diverse array of people I've been proud of myself to feel like I'm actually contributing to this new responsibility. So I've been proud to take on a new research topic, a new realm of thinking. So that's been a proud process. But honestly, I'm just proud of the whole message, or the end goal. It's really admirable because I feel like the farmers are really overlooked a lot and they're one of the most important foundations for our community. If you have a really booming agriculture system in your area, it's almost like everything follows. Um. So as as much as I'd like to uh say I've, I've instituted, uh, like, uh, raised farmer's revenue by X amount, I can't say that I've done that yet, but I'm learning and I have the desire to be impactful, so I'm very proud of that. But I'm also very proud of people's willingness to reach out, because, you know, I just send a research.

Mitchell Doss:

I find part of a food system that seems interesting, like, for example, the auctions. I couldn't really find ideal contacts for those, so I just started reaching out, like hey, who can I talk to? Like, if you're an extension agent and agents stuff, who can I talk to that manages this? And uh, sometimes I get emails, sometimes I get numbers. I don't really like texted numbers because sometimes you know how'd you get this number? You could get a lot of animosity with it, but um, they've been.

Mitchell Doss:

It's been really positive feedback. When I reach out to people and they're like man, well, yeah, you're a fellow person who wants to see this food system expand and grow, like, I'll be happy to show you around our facility, I'll be happy to let you meet some farmers and, hey, come on back, I can give you a tour of the area. So it's really. It's been surprising to me, because usually when you try to bring about change, some people are a little bit stubborn or a little bit hardheaded with it, but people seem to be really opening up about it. So that's another aspect I'm proud of it's people's willingness to like, acknowledge that we could be better, and they're willing to work along with it. So I think it's slowly, I think slowly I've gathering stuff and I think eventually, once we have this workshop, it's just gonna just explode or it's gonna take off. At least that's what I'm hoping, I think. I think it's gonna turn into something pretty cool so you're talking about?

Caleb Ayers:

you know connecting with people and all that you know going about connecting with different. You know producers and things like that. Who are the types of people that you're looking to connect with now and how can they get in touch with?

Mitchell Doss:

you? That's a great question. Um, honestly, anybody associated with the food system and and honestly at this point, well, probably not at this point, but eventually consumers, um, I have been reaching out to, I guess, major players in the food system game, such as food hubs, food auctions, places where uh farmers go to this, I guess, sell, or uh sell their goods, um, but I guess now, once we have that workshop, we'll have input from farmers and then we can start reaching out or receive word from institutional buyers, nonprofits, and then eventually, moving on from that, even on the single scale, like a small scale consumer, because a lot of these food systems introduce like subscription programs such such as, uh like food farmer buy-in, so like a certain farmer will have this crop and he'll put up front cost and have a certain amount of people put up money for it and you get a cut of that harvest. Um to just local, just like weekly or bi-monthly food, uh, like food drops or um, and that that's, that's something that could be implemented in the future. So I guess just um, and there just, and there has been research to say that people want more local produced food. But I guess it's nice to associate a name with a face and like, hey, so-and-so, just emailed me expressing interest in this, possibly in the future getting a subscription program on the consumer scale. That way I can hey, that way I can, hey, that way I can communicate to the farmer. Hey, I've been receiving word lately that people are really interested in subscription programs like is that something you'd be interested in? To in, in and um.

Mitchell Doss:

So I guess anybody that has any insight, input, uh, or has any uh value or or recommendations, I'm open to hear anything because, like I said, you want to change food, you've got to change everything, and everybody offers a different, diverse perspective. So you could say something that I hadn't even thought about or so-and-so, I hadn't even thought about. That changes the whole game, not to be vague. But I feel like it's such a wide variety of solutions that I feel like I don't want to single anybody out. I don't want to say no, just the farmers, talk to me.

Mitchell Doss:

I'll talk to anybody about it, because I feel like it's so impactful for the area that anybody can get into it. I mean, anybody can make their voice heard about what they're eating and consuming or whatever they're producing. Or if you want to shift up and change what you're producing because we have connections with the cea, you know, with the cea center being here, um, you know, with dr south, if you want to change from being a field crop to hydroponics or you want to expand from solely field crops, hydroponics, we can. You know we have, like you said, diverse people that can help you on the way. Um, so, if so, if you reach out, I may not be able to help you, but I can put you in contact with somebody who might.

Caleb Ayers:

So that's the whole thing I'm willing to hear anybody, absolutely, and for those who are interested in learning more, you can visit our website. It's IALRorg backslash value chain and there will be all the information about the work that Mitchell's doing in this effort to sort of you know, grow and improve the food system here in Southern Virginia. Mitchell, thanks for being here. Really, of course, thank you for having me.