July 2015 — This summer, Josie has been working with Feast Down East, also called the Southeastern North Carolina Food Systems Program, in Burgaw, NC.
Josie has contributed to several different Feast Down East projects, including completing purchase orders, communicating with farmers, and accomplishing other day to day tasks. Much of her work has focused on preparing for a new food hub in Leland, NC. To that end, Josie has been involved with researching the Burgaw/Wilmington area, assessing the needs of farmers who may be interested in getting involved with the hub, and networking with those farmers in a number of ways. In particular, Josie has enjoyed meeting with farmers directly, as she has been able to learn about what they grow and share that with others.
She is excited that her work is helping to set up the new food hub, explaining “I like to feel like I’m contributing something and what I’m doing actually matters.” Josie anticipates that her experiences with Feast Down East will enable her to bridge gaps in local food value chains through communication and networking.
This article originally appeared in the July 2015 NC Growing Together Newsletter.