Tucked up against the West Virginia border, Highland County is the least populous county in Virginia, with a little more than 2,200 residents. It has more sheep than people and is famous for being one of the southernmost points in the country where maple syrup is produced.
The town of Monterey, population 265, is the county seat. It's a half-mile by half-mile diamond at the base of one of Highland’s many valleys. The town’s east and west ends rise up into some of the Allegheny Mountains’ peaks then give way to a big sky.
Elizabeth Lohr-Myers runs The Highland Center, a nonprofit that puts on a farmers market on Fridays, along with programs ranging from chili cook-offs to regional economic development opportunities.
“We say that we're four mountains from anywhere here, because to get to any real sort of civilization, it takes at least an hour,” she said.
While locals cherish the county’s isolation and natural beauty, Lohr-Myers said access to food has been scarce.
“The farmers market was our very first program back in 1997, and there was a grocery store here at the time,” she said. “But in most of the years in between 1997 and now, there has not been a grocery store in Highland County. So, the farmers market has really been the only source for fresh, local foods.”
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