Farm to Senior Services
Project Description
Unlocking institutional markets for local farmers creates profitable market potential, opportunities to improve healthy food options, and greater community resilience. However, institutional local food procurement is often limited by contracts, seasonality, and supply chain logistics. Smaller county-based institutions, such as senior food services, can be more accessible and require year-round volumes that match well with small and mid-scale farms. In addition, senior food services are often connected to local government offices motivated to support the viability of local farmers and food businesses. Senior food services vary but may include home food delivery and congregate meal sites or produce box delivery programs. These services provide healthy, fresh foods to a growing older adult population that often experiences high levels of isolation and food insecurity. Farm to Senior Services programs can provide much-needed nutritious food for older adults while increasing economic opportunities for local farmers and food businesses.
Are you interested in starting or improving Farm to Senior Services in your area?
Start with these steps:
- Check out the Farm to Senior Services: Guide to Building Networks and Local Food Pathways in Senior Centers.
- Contact your Cooperative Extension County Center for ideas on building a F2SS Team in your area.
Join the new NC Farm to Senior Services Network by filling out this form. You will receive updates and resources from the farmtoseniorservices@lists.ncsu.edu listserv.
*NEW * 2025-2027 Farm to Senior Services Pilots in WNC
The Center for Environmental Farming Systems/NC State University has received a $145,200 grant from Dogwood Health Trust to support a 2025-2027 collaboration between NC Farm to Senior Services (F2SS), Empowering Mountain Food Systems (EMFS), and NC Cooperative Extension. The grant will provide funding, networking, and technical assistance to identify barriers and pilot local food purchasing solutions that connect older adults and local farmers through various pathways, including farmers markets, food hubs, and senior centers. The grant, titled “Piloting community-based farm-to-senior-services strategies to improve food security for older adults in rural Western North Carolina,” will build on existing work in McDowell County and support new F2SS pilot efforts in Burke County, Yancey County, and the Qualla Boundary of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI). Each of these areas will have a community-based F2SS Team made up of Extension, Senior Services, Food Hub, Food Council, Farmer, and Older Adult to assess existing F2SS programs and direct new local food pathways.
Community Partners
Community collaborators for the 2025-2027 pilot include Burke County Cooperative Extension, Burke County Senior Center; EBCI Cooperative Extension, EBCI Healthy Eating Action Team, EBCI Tribal Foods; Yancey County Cooperative Extension, TRACTOR Food & Farms, Reconciliation House, Dig In! Yancey Community Garden, Yancey County Senior Services; McDowell County Cooperative Extension, McDowell County Senior Center, McDowell County Local Food Advisory Council, Foothills Food Hub, and many community-based organizations.
2020-2023 Farm to Senior Services Pilots
Between 2020 and 2023, the NC Farm to Senior Services (F2SS) program supported programming in three pilot counties: McDowell, Scotland, and Warren Counties to learn how local food pathways could be created for county-run senior centers. The program supported three County F2SS Teams, which included Extension agents, food councils, farmers, intermediary food businesses, and institutional buyers. The project aimed to improve institutional procurement policy, address procurement challenges of county-based institutions, provide resources and technical assistance for farmers, and support increased availability of local foods for older adult populations in North Carolina. These three pilot counties were selected based on their geographic variation, existence of established food councils, and USDA designation as low income/low access areas.
Community Partners
Community collaborators for the 2020-2023 pilot include McDowell County Cooperative Extension, McDowell County Senior Center, McDowell County Local Food Advisory Council, and Foothills Food Hub; Scotland County Cooperative Extension, Lumber River Council of Government’s Area Agency on Aging, ScotLand Grows, and Sandhills AgInnovation Center; Warren County Cooperative Extension, Warren County Senior Center, Warren County Local Foods Promotion Council, and Working Landscapes. Additional partners include Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments, Isothermal Planning and Development Commission, and Good Food Purchasing Program.
Read more about the impacts at this link.
Resources
Farm to Senior Services:
Connecting Local Farmers with Older Adults in McDowell County
News
Expanding our Impact in Western North Carolina
CEFS is grateful for the opportunity to partner with Dogwood Health Trust and expand our impact in Western North Carolina.
Expanding Farm to Senior Services in Western North Carolina
CEFS has received a $145,200 Dogwood Health Trust grant to expand Farm-to-Senior Services in Western North Carolina, improving local food access for older adults. The two-year project will strengthen community-based food systems and pilot local food purchasing efforts in McDowell, Burke, and Yancey counties, as well as the Qualla Boundary of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
CEFS Supply Chain Interns Support Local Food Hubs
CEFS' Supply Chain Internship supports local food hubs in increasing their capacity to connect farmers with institutional markets. The Farm to Senior Services (F2SS) program is based in three pilot counties across North Carolina and aims to increase local food procurement in county-based senior food services. During summer 2021, three supply chain interns were based at different food hubs where they improved their professional skills while moving the goals of the pilot program forward.
Creating new pathways to bring local foods from farmers to older adults across North Carolina
The Farm to Senior Services project will create and connect three county-based teams including Extension agents, food councils, farmers, intermediary food businesses (e.g. food hubs or aggregators), and senior meal service institutional buyers. The project team aims to improve institutional procurement policy, address procurement challenges of county-based institutions, provide resources and technical assistance for farmers, and support increased availability of local foods for older adults in North Carolina.