HomeGrown Directory

We are pleased to announce that over the next year, the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (www.cefs.ncsu.edu) has been funded to reach out across the state and together with our partners ask: What will it take to build a sustainable local food economy in North Carolina?

From the mountains to the coast, various organizations are promoting and implementing exciting initiatives to support our state and communities through sustainable local agriculture. Examples include new farmer’s markets, local food policy councils, comprehensive county- or region-based food initiatives, farm incubator programs, farm and/or garden youth education programs, health and nutrition projects focused on local sustainable foods, procurement initiatives by large retail and institutional buyers and schools, and much more.

If each North Carolinian spent 25 cents/day on local food (just 2.5 percent of the $3600.00 that we spend on average on food consumption per year), it would mean $792 million for the state’s economy. That money circulates here in the state so has a multiplier effect, rather than going to a corporate headquarters in another state.

Over the next year, CEFS and its partners will be gathering information from across food system sectors: conducting regional meetings, targeted issues discussions, interviews, and hosting a statewide summit on March 2 and 3, 2009. Our desired result is a Statewide Action Plan for Building the Local Food Economy with specific steps (short- and long-term) that policy makers, Universities, government agencies, environmental organizations, businesses, funding agencies, social activists, NGOs and citizens can take to make this happen.

The first three regional meetings, held in Raleigh, Burgaw, and Asheville, were very well attended. Because of the interest, two additional meetings have been added relatively near the High Country:

Charlotte area: December 8, 2008. 1:30-4:30 at Cabarrus Arena and Event Center. The address is: 4751 Highway 49 North, Concord, NC 28025 and directions can be found at: http://www.cabarrusarena.com/pages/Direction.html.

Winston-Salem: December 10, 2008. 5:30-8:30 PM. SciWorks. 400 W Hanes Mill Rd, Winston Salem, (336) 767-6734. directions: http://www.sciworks.org/SciInfoDirections.html.

If you are interested in attending either of these meetings, and wish to coordinate travel from the High Country (possibly in an Extension Van), contact Richard Boylan by e-mail (richard_boylan@ncsu.edu) or at the Watauga County Extension Office: 828-264-3061. Also, please RSVP individually to amber_polk@ncsu.edu if you are attending a regional meeting as these meetings have been filling up, and check the initiative website (www.cefsfarmtofork.com) for updates.

The purpose of the regional meetings is to bring together those engaged in all aspects of the food system, to collect information and ideas that will be the building blocks of discussion at the summit and eventually the core components of the State Action Plan. We want to identify specific regional and local sustainable food systems models that are working and also regional challenges that can be addressed through policies, programs, and funding.