Contacts
Team Contact
Taylor Williams
Extension Agent, Agriculture
N.C. Cooperative Extension
Moore County Center
910-947-3188
taylor_williams@ncsu.edu
Project Coordinator
Joanna Massey Lelekacs
Horticultural Science
Box 7609
NCSU Campus
Raleigh, NC 27695
919-244-5269
joanna_lelekacs@ncsu.edu
Additional Resources
See Also
Return to main SARE PDP project page.
Year 1 Project Plans and Stories
| Chatham County - School Garden | |
| Gaston County - Develop a Local Foods Strategic Plan that is Supported by the Community | |
| Guilford County - Community Garden | |
| Lee, Moore & Richmond Counties - Partner Presentation on Local Foods and Farm Tour | |
Project Plan |
|
| Lenoir County - Farmers' Market Revitalization | |
| Swain County - Farmers' Market Revitalization | |
Year 2 Project Plans and Stories
| Cleveland County – Building Community Awareness and Involvement in the Local Food System | |
| Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians – Farmers' Market | |
| Forsyth County – Increasing Awareness of Community Garden/Farm | |
| Forsyth County/GreenXscapes – Community/Educational Garden | |
| Greene County – Farmers' Market | |
| Montgomery County – Farm Tour | |
Other CBFS Efforts
SARE PDP Extension & Community Partnerships
LEE, MOORE & RICHMOND COUNTIES: Local Food Projects
(download this page as a .pdf file)
Needs Addressed
- Increased market for locally produced farm products
- Increased access to healthy food for consumers
- Increased awareness of the economic benefits of a local food system
Project/Process
In recent years, Ag Agents with Cooperative Extension in Moore, Richmond and Lee have worked on improving farmers’ access to direct markets. Though there have been some successes, farmers still express that consumers do not appreciate their product, and that consumers are unwilling to spend the time and money associated with buying directly from the farmer. One way to increase the consumer market would be to increase awareness of the many benefits associated with buying products locally. To that end, the agents developed partnerships with a number of organizations and individuals who shared a vision for increasing consumer consumption of farm products. These partners included health care, faith communities, those working with food insecure populations, schools, and many others. The goal was to develop a Speakers Bureau of committed partners. Armed with a virtual tool box developed by the agents and supplemented with the specific expertise of the partners in their own fields, a speaker will have the information they need to address in an informed way their own constituency (ie., a PTA group, a Land Trust Board) on the myriad of benefits of supporting locally produced food. This network of speakers has the potential to reach many more consumers than an agent could alone. In addition, in addressing their own constituency, each speaker has greater authority based on a relationship of respect and trust with their audience that will improve the reception of the message.
Partnerships
- Sandhills Farm to Table Cooperative
- Communities in Schools
- First Health Hospital
- Richmond County Partnership for Children
- Brighter Futures of Montgomery County
- Moore County Farmers’ Market
- Sandhills Farmers’ Green Market
- Chef Warren’s Restaurant
- NC Cooperative Extension
Lessons Learned
Many partners are eager to participate. Getting everyone together in the same place and time is difficult. We have made use of the internet with a Wiki Pb Works.
Results
- A toolkit for partners has been created with presentations and talking points on the benefits of local foods, specific to Sandhills.
- Eighteen partners have been trained and equipped with toolkit
- Sandhills Farm to Table sold $276,000 in local produce to 725 households.
Next Steps
We have scheduled two farm tours to better acquaint members with the concerns of farmers.
Funding for this initiative provided through the USDA, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Professional Development Program.