HUD Teams with Disaster Recovery Partners to Stimulate Economic Growth

HUD Charleston Field Office Director Julie Alston (left) poses for a photo with Rainelle Mayor Andrea Pendleton.

The Fruits of Labor Café & Bakery was forced to close its doors after the 2016 catastrophic flooding in Rainelle. An active participant in the Local Foods, Local Places workshops, the bakery will soon begin opening once a week.

A multiagency collaboration has breathed new life into Rainelle, West Virginia. The community is making a big comeback after catastrophic flooding in June 2016 left wide-spread devastation, resulting in the loss of lives, homes and businesses.

Through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Local Foods, Local Places program, the Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Corporation in Rainelle received assistance to develop an action plan for promoting local food systems and a healthy, economically vibrant community.

HUD joined forces with federal and local partners to support the effort-with the Charleston Office of Field Policy and Management (FPM) serving as HUD's subject matter expert at workshops and community planning events.

"We are a part of the team that's helping the community achieve its goal of having local foods in areas that support economic development and healthy lifestyles," said Julie Alston, HUD's Charleston Field Office Director. "When the community benefits from this initiative, so do the residents of HUD-assisted housing."

Rainelle leaders selected two primary goals for their plan-1) growing the local food economy and market and 2) making Rainelle a community of health and healing. Economic development was also made a priority in hopes of strengthening the regional economy through the transformation of the downtown area.

"We have made important connections for the community by engaging federal and private partners who would otherwise not be involved," said Alston. "For example, after connecting the Rainelle Elementary School with the North Central West Virginia Community Action Agency, students received support with their agricultural projects, learning how to grow and eat healthy foods."

Other agencies supporting Rainelle's Local Foods, Local Places program include the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Transportation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Appalachian Regional Commission and Delta Regional Authority.

HUD plays a major role in supporting the ongoing disaster recovery in not only Rainelle, but in all the counties designated for federal aid after the 2016 flooding. Since the activation of the National Disaster Recovery Framework, FPM has fulfilled HUD's role as the lead coordinating agency of the Housing Recovery Support Function, working alongside federal, state and local entities to advance the recovery and to mitigate future flooding risks.

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