Tracy (right) with NC 10% Campaign Director Robyn Stout.
July 2015 — Situated in Raleigh, NC, Tracy has been working with the NC 10% Campaign. As their apprentice, Tracy has mostly focused on the education portion of the campaign, gathering information on existing resources which aim to teach consumers about sustainable, local food choices.
In particular, Tracy is researching which local food terms and concepts are confusing to consumers, and ascertaining which educational materials are the most attractive and helpful to them. She recognizes the importance of disseminating resources that will help buyers, distributors, consumers, and other actors in the local food supply chain to better understand the labels involved with buying sustainable, local fare.
Tracy explains, “There is a lot of deception in food labeling…that’s a large part of why we are doing this. Even as a label reader and a student in agriculture, I still have a lot of questions about what these claims really mean and I can see where purchasers and people in restaurants may not have time to look at these things.” She hopes that her research will help inform others about their food, enabling them to make sound purchasing choices.
This article originally appeared in the July 2015 NC Growing Together Newsletter.