North Carolina’s Sustainable Local Food Advisory Council – one of the “game changer” initiatives that emerged from CEFS’ statewide Farm to Fork process – is a legislated body that was formed in 2009 to build on the Farm to Fork momentum and facilitate opportunities to develop local food markets and to address barriers and opportunities for food systems change. The Council has 24 appointees, with broad representation across the food system. CEFS Director Dr. Nancy Creamer was appointed to the Council by Governor Perdue in 2010 and serves as its vice-chair.
The purpose of the Council, as stated in SB 1067, is to “contribute to building a local food economy, thereby benefiting North Carolina by creating jobs, stimulating statewide economic development, circulating money from local food sales within local communities, preserving open space, decreasing the use of fossil fuel and thus reducing carbon emissions, preserving and protecting the natural environment, increasing consumer access to fresh and nutritious foods, and providing greater food security for all North Carolinians.”
The Council’s three subcommittees have had some major wins since inception. Some of the successes have been legislative: for example, through HB 162, farmers generating small quantities of wastewater from on-farm processing activities such as making goat cheese or wine may now dispose of that water through land application as long as the application does not run into surface water or violate ground or surface water standards. Previously, there was no clear way described to handle the small amounts of wastewater, and producers were caught in a quagmire of regulatory questions and different interpretations between state agencies. This simple change makes it easier for producers who would like to get into value-added processing on their farm.
Some of the wins have occurred through supporting other legislative councils where our interests overlap. For example, in 2010, the Childhood Obesity Task Force put forth a recommendation – which the SLFAC passed a resolution in support of – to strengthen the Farm to School Program. The resultant HB 1832 directed the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to strengthen the Farm to School program by dedicating a new staff person to assist with administering the program.
Other times, significant wins occur just by drawing attention to an issue. For example, at a SFLAC meeting in 2010, Don Delozier, Director of NCDA&CS’ Meat and Poultry Inspection Division, was on the agenda to discuss the origin of the 1000-head poultry limit for on-farm slaughter. As part of his response, he announced that there would be no additional requirements for processing up to 20,000 birds on-farm. This change in interpretation or clarification of policy in this case made the difference between a non-economically viable and an economically viable farm operation. NCDA&CS followed up with a new regulatory notice explaining the 20,000 poultry exemption with MPID Notice 10-10.
When it was authorized, the Council was set to expire in July 2012. Thanks to the diligence of many partners (with NCDA&CS taking the lead, NC Farm Bureau, Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, and others), the Council’s legislative sunset has been extended to July 2015 (SB 491).
Follow the work of the Sustainable Local Foods Advisory Council here.
From the August 2012 E-Newsletter