The team found that purchasing 100% North Carolina tomatoes in season reduces the restaurant group's cost by nearly half, accomplishes the goal of sourcing exclusively local tomatoes, and will likely reduce on-farm food loss.
Whole Crop Harvest (WCH) is bringing together partners from across the supply chain to reduce on-farm produce loss and increase farmer profitability.
NC Growing Together has partnered with the NC 10% Campaign and Vittles Films to produce videos about local foods.
In collaboration with early educators, CEFS' Farm to Early Care and Education (NC Farm to ECE) Initiative created a series of eye-catching posters for young children that portray farmers and the vegetables they grow for their community - specifically highlighting women farmers and farmers of color.
NC Growing Together is catalyzing ties between food and farm businesses, educators, Cooperative Extension staff, and Small Business Centers (SBC) across the state to build business support and education for a thriving local food economy.
This past year, UFOODS worked with UNC-P Executive Chef Glenn Reynolds and produce wholesale/distributor FreshPoint to increase local sourcing for campus dining. The result of this collaboration? UNC-P more than doubled their year-over-year percentage of local produce (defined as sourced within 250 miles) purchased through FreshPoint, from 3.35% to 8.9%.
The goal of the Whole Crop Harvest initiative is to discover ways to recover and utilize produce that would otherwise not leave the field or packing shed.
The How it Works Handbook: A Guide to University Food Systems and Local Food Programs explains the structure of the university dining system, steps for successful programs, and various pathways through which locally-grown food can reach campus community members.
Whole animal purchasing benefits farmers in that they don't have to spend time marketing their meat, and is especially beneficial for rural farmers who don't have ready access to markets outside of urban centers.
Two new resources from NC Growing Together: Hubs & Kitchens: Food Hubs, Commercial Community Kitchens, and Copackers in NC, and the Food Business Road Map.
