Our Founding Story
VFA is grounded in the lived experience and professional work of its founder, Bruce Decker. With three decades of plant-forward practice and a career in organizational development, community building, and systems change across Appalachia, Bruce brings cultural authenticity and practical expertise to this work. His experience with the Appalachian Leadership Institute (ALI) demonstrates his ability to build the relationships required to support this effort at scale.
The concept for VFA was shaped by a key experience in Huntington, West Virginia. While serving as board Chair of Create Huntington, Inc., Bruce and colleagues launched plant-forward cultural pop-up events called CreateVEGington (#VegBAM) in two consecutive years. An event expected tohttps://img1.wsimg.com/isteam/ip/9ab7f9bd-22a5-4d6e-8ffa-03aae1fc9a92/The%20VFA%20Story%20Graphic%20Only.png/:/cr=t:0%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:88.89%25/rs=w:600,h:800,cg:true draw 100 participants attracted more than 500 people and a dozen vendors, with growth continuing the following year. This demonstrated strong regional interest in plant-forward culture as a community connector.
Plant-forward traditions reflect long-standing Appalachian connections to food, land, creativity, healing, and community care. This place-based approach reflects VFA’s cultural grounding and distinguishes it from national efforts without regional roots.