August 27, 2018: For Immediate Release

Media Contact:  Robyn Stout, NC 10% Campaign State Coordinator: 919-515-5362 or robyn_stout@ncsu.edu

RALEIGH, NC:  The NC 10% Campaign has a new cohort of Local Food Ambassadors. The Local Food Ambassador (LFA) Program promotes local foods on university campuses and provides training opportunities for students to engage with the food system. The LFA Program offers paid employment to student Ambassadors, leadership training, and one-on-one mentorship, preparing future leaders to understand what an equitable community-based food system looks like. The NC 10% Campaign is an initiative of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) and NC Cooperative Extension to encourage individuals, businesses, and institutions to spend at least 10% of their existing food budget on NC-grown and caught foods.

During the school year, the student Ambassadors lead local food education and outreach efforts on their campuses through tabling, presentations, events, and media promotion. University local food teams comprised of students, Dining Services and Sustainability Office personnel, Cooperative Extension agents, farmers, and community advocates support the students in their outreach efforts. The NC 10% Campaign works with county Cooperative Extension agents to facilitate and connect the teams with statewide local food supply chain partners and resources.

Student Ambassadors focus on different aspects of local foods, such as increasing access to nutritious foods on campus, cooking and eating fresh and seasonal foods, economic opportunities for area farmers, and developing community partnerships around the local food supply chain. The six student Ambassadors for the Fall 2018 semester will be hosted at Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Previous student Ambassadors have also been hosted at North Carolina Central University and Winston Salem State University.

Jada Monica Drew will be coordinating the LFA Program and supporting the student Ambassadors. She is a Guilford College and Drexel University graduate and a certified trainer in Intercultural Development Inventory and True Colors with a background in higher education administration and inclusion strategy.

“The connections developed for students who are passionate about local foods and food sustainability by the NC 10% Campaign is not only exciting, it’s ground-breaking and needed in North Carolina. I’m honored to work as the connector of HBCUs [Historically Black Colleges and Universities] and UNC-Pembroke, which all have strong ties to agriculture, land grants, and social transformation in our country,” says Drew.

The Fall 2018 Local Food Ambassadors are:

Erica Acheampomaa – Elizabeth City State University, Biology Major, Public Health Minor
Even as a sophomore, Erica already knows that she wants to be a public health advocate and mentor for young children. Her goal is to help students eat healthy on and off campus.
FB: @ECSULocalFoods, IN: vikinglocalfoods

Bryana Exum – Fayetteville State University, Healthcare Administration Major
Bryana is a junior who has experience working in Campus Dining and is interested in further developing her leadership skills while bringing awareness to local food issues on her campus.
FB: @FSULocalFoods , IN: broncolocalfoods

Lauren Brown, NC A&T State University, Agribusiness Major
Lauren is a sophomore interested in making change through student-led initiatives and by connecting the wealth of resources across various university departments with local farmers in the community.
FB: @AggieLocalFoods, IN: aggielocalfoods, TW: @StudentAmbassa4

Brooke Smith, NC A&T State University, Biological Engineering Major
As a junior, Brooke believes that education can empower a community and that A&T’s campus can help increase healthy and sustainable options in Greensboro and across the state.
FB: @AggieLocalFoods, IN: aggielocalfoods, TW: @StudentAmbassa4

Tiffany West, NC A&T State University, undeclared major
Tiffany is a 2nd semester freshman and Greensboro native who is interested in psychology, sociology, and culinary arts. She hopes her work with the LFA program can address food insecurity and equity in the food system.
FB: @AggieLocalFoods, IN: aggielocalfoods, TW: @StudentAmbassa4

Tenisha McLean – UNC Pembroke, Biology Major, Math Minor
Tenisha is a senior, a Greener Coalition officer, peer tutor, and a returning Local Food Ambassador.  She hopes to continue to connect the campus and dining services with area farmers through events and educational opportunities.
FB: @UNCPLocalFoods, IN: greenerco_uncp

For more information about the NC 10% Campaign and how to support the Local Food Ambassador Program, please visit www.nc10percent.com

The Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) is a partnership of NC State University, NC Agricultural and Technical State University and the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. CEFS develops and promotes just and equitable food and farming systems that conserve natural resources, strengthen communities, improve health outcomes, and provide economic opportunities in North Carolina and beyond. For more information, visit www.cefs.ncsu.edu.

Download this press release as a printable PDF.

Position Announcement: Poultry Plant Manager

The ISAMPA Board is working to reopen the poultry plant in Marion, NC to serve independent poultry producers in the region. Foothills Processing is actively seeking a manager to coordinate the resumption of operations and is accepting applications for the position. The following are a sample of the job tasks and functions:

• Supervise and manage the reopening of the plant and communicate with stakeholders
• Restore equipment to functioning state
• Repair any leaks in water system
• Restore water service
• Trial poultry processing line
• Update USDA inspection registration
• Staff plant sufficient to resume operations

Desirable qualities include: good communicator, effective manager, construction expertise, self-starter and strong initiative, financially savvy and creative problem-solver. This person would report to the leadership of Foothills Processing, LLC, the new company managing the plant. This is a contract position with opportunity for membership. Candidates should email resume, letter of interest and hourly contract rate to foothillsprocessing@gmail.com. No calls, please.

Thanks,

ISAMPA and Foothills Processing, LLC

The goal of the University Food Systems (UFOODS) initiative is to contribute to the building of local food systems in North Carolina by demystifying complex university food purchasing systems, identifying entry pathways for local foods, and building supply chain connections to bring products to campus. The initiative, a project of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems and the NC 10% Campaign, is working with six partner universities in North Carolina, including the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNC-P).

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%. This increase in just one year shows strong potential for increasing local procurement on a larger scale.

It helped that UNC-P has a supportive administration. UNC-P Executive Chef Glenn Reynolds says that he had support from as far up as the Chancellor to pursue local foods sourcing for campus dining halls. The challenge was finding it, and figuring out how to get it through their authorized produce vendor, FreshPoint.

UFOODS project staff facilitated meetings and ongoing follow-up over the course of a year to connect farms located within 10 miles of campus into the produce supply chain serving UNC-P. The UFOODS team also included a local foods intern, Julia Sampson, funded through UNC-P’s Sustainability Office. “Julia has really been instrumental to all this,” says Chef Reynolds. “She is constantly speaking with farmers, recruiting farmers – she’s definitely persistent.”

Julia Sampson and UNC-P students at a UFOODS meeting.

Student advocacy was also a critical ingredient. ” With agricultural fields so close to campus, UNC-P students understand how strong local food systems can support the local community, and are committed to connecting the dots of local economic development with sustainable farming practices. We have always been so impressed with the students at UNC-P, as well as the dedication from UNC-P’s Sustainability Office and faculty who go above and beyond to support these students and raise up UNC-P as a statewide and national model of sustainable programming,” says Robyn Stout, statewide coordinator of the NC 10% Campaign.

Because UNC-P’s Sodexo-managed dining operations hold exclusive contracts with particular authorized vendors, one strategy to increase local food in dining is for local farmers to sell to FreshPoint, which then supplies the produce to UNC-P. “The farmers meet the [FreshPoint] truck at UNC-P on Friday, and the produce is back here on Monday,” says Chef Reynolds.

FreshPoint’s Lauren Horning and Millard Locklear.

“Trucking the product to FreshPoint’s warehouse and then back to UNC-P might seem inefficient,” says Rebecca Dunning, UFOODS team lead. “But it complies with the university and distributor practices, saves farmers the expense of trucking the product to Raleigh, and creates the opportunity for local farmers’ products to be sold to other FreshPoint customers.”

To share insights learned over the past year, Dunning, Chef Reynolds, and FreshPoint’s Local and Organic Marketing Specialist, Lauren Horning, presented a session entitled “Dining and Distributor Collaboration for Authentically Local Sourcing” at the National Association of College and University Food Services Southern Regional Conference on March 6 in Denton, Texas.

For more information about UFOODS, please visit www.ufoodsnc.com , or for general resources on farm-to-institution procurement, visit the NC 10% Campaign.

Top photo: Farmer Millard Locklear of New Ground Farm, Chef Glenn Reynolds of UNC-P, and Davon Goodwin of Sandhills AgInnovation Center (L-R).

The following article is from North Carolina Growing Together (NCGT), a five-year (2013-2017) USDA-funded CEFS initiative that is working to bring more locally-grown foods – produce, meat, dairy, and seafood – into mainstream retail and food service supply chains.  For more information about NC Growing Together, please visit www.ncgrowingtogether.org or read their October 2017 newsletter.

Local Food Economies, a project of CEFS’ NC Growing Together initiative, engages local and regional governments in the work of building local food systems.  In September, Local Food Economies and the NC 10% Campaign organized three Innovations in Economic Development through Local Foods gatherings to showcase investments that local and regional governments can make to support small and mid-scale food and farming businesses.  These events were attended by officials from over 46 local, regional, and state government agencies in 89 of North Carolina’s 100 counties.

“The goal of these events was to inform decision-makers and planners in local and regional government about how local agriculture is successful as an economic development driver,” said Laura Lauffer, Project Coordinator, Local Farms and Food, N.C. A&T State University Cooperative Extension Program and NC Growing Together.

Each of the filled-to-capacity events – held in Waynesville, Ellerbe, and Henderson – highlighted successful examples from around the state of local governments supporting local food and farm businesses.  There were networking opportunities with representatives from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the North Carolina Rural Center, North Carolina Department of Commerce Rural Planning Division, and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.  The American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) offered Certification Maintenance credits to its members who attended.

Local Food Economies’ outreach has helped bring food and farm business development to the economic development agendas of North Carolina’s county and municipal governments.  Nine of the sixteen regional Councils of Government now include agricultural economic development as a goal of their comprehensive plans.

Don Belk, a Community Economic Development Planner with the Rural Economic Development Division of the North Carolina Department of Commerce, attended the gathering at Vance-Granville Community College in Henderson.  “This was a great networking experience for me.  As the planner for North Carolina’s ‘North Central Prosperity Zone’, this introduced me to the dedicated individuals and innovative efforts going on in the area,” he said.

“One of the more interesting things I learned was that we as a state are still struggling to build the local foods ‘infrastructure’ needed to really expand opportunities for farmers and greater, economical food options for citizens.  Here is where regional collaboration is vital.  We need to look at the local food infrastructure and the agricultural capacity of the land at the regional scale to determine what is needed,” he added.

All of the presentations from the Innovations in Economic Development events can be found on YouTube, here.

NC Growing Together and Local Food Economies has created a suite of resources to support local government engagement in local food systems development.  Visit the Local Food Economies website for County Agriculture Infographics, Local Food Economic Development Videos, and A Government Guide on Building Local Food Economies.  The new GIS version of NCGT’s Local Food Infrastructure Inventory Map can be found here.

This blog originally appeared on the NC 10% Campaign website.  

The NC 10% Campaign’s Local Food Ambassador Program offers year-long paid employment to student Ambassadors to organize around local food issues on their university and college campuses. The students gain direct campaign experience; new food system professional networks; and a toolbox of relevant non-profit, food movement, and grassroots organizing skills.  We checked in with a few former Ambassadors to learn what they gained from their experience.

ASHLAND TANN, ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY | Political Science Major, Military Science minor, CLASS OF 2018

Tell us about what you learned as a Local Food Ambassador (LFA).

One thing I learned in my professional skill set is about time management and planning and realizing that other people have just as important deadlines as you do, so it’s important to make sure that you communicate exactly what you need in a timely manner. I learned how important it was to maintain lines of communication.

What was your greatest success?

The personal growth that I had and realizing that this was something I was interested in.  It was more of a personal success than anything — just noticing that this was something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life, something I was interested in.

How has being an Ambassador helped you in finding or thinking about your career path?

Being an LFA helped me realize that I love working with food and I love the entire food process from cooking to agriculture.  I didn’t know it when I first started, but that experience going to the farmers market with my mom and growing up in that southern agricultural background, it really helped me discover what I was truly interested in.  I always knew I wanted to change the world, but I didn’t know how I wanted to do it and I think that this might be the way for me.

JOVIA OCHIENG, NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY  | Health Education Major, CLASS OF 2017

Tell us about what you learned as an Ambassador.

In the beginning of the position, I thought that it was very laid back and easy to do events on campus, but I later learned that you need to open the channels of communication and be willing to be flexible. Not shutting down when things don’t go as expected.

What do you think was your biggest success?

My biggest success was talking to students and seeing them excited and teaching them about what is local food and why we need it in our university system.  Also continuing communication channels with dining staff.

Tell us about the work that you did with your internship and how you connected local food with obesity and health.

Basically, I wasn’t interested in obesity and health, and then over the summer I realized that the best way to fight obesity is through food because 80% of weight loss is food. If someone is eating healthy, the changes of reducing their obesity levels increases.  So with that knowledge I was able to connect local food with obesity and health.

How has this position helped you in finding your career path or focusing on your next job?  

I’ve grown a lot through this position, in leadership skills and communication skills.  I know that when I’m talking to someone, I need to have a clear vision for what I want out of that meeting or what it is that I want to accomplish, so having that skill has prepared me for my future job, because when you’re working for a company, you always need to have their mission in mind and everything needs to be aligned with that and what they’re trying to do. Not necessarily what you’re trying to do or what you think is good. Next, I still hope to work for a place that looks at sustainability, and that wasn’t true earlier in the year.  Earlier in the year, I wasn’t thinking about sustainability in food, I was just thinking about health, health, health.  I wasn’t thinking about how sustainability plays a role in our health.

KABRINA MCAFEE, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA – PEMBROKE  | Biology Major, CLASS OF 2017

Tell us about a learning experience as an Ambassador.

By being the Greener Coalition President, I learned how to be a leader and communicate well with my teammates and group members, and getting in contact with people from around my school so that they could help us do different things and help us get the word out about the local food ambassador program and the Real Food Challenge.  So, I learned communication skills and also organization and teamwork skills.

What was your biggest success?

When we did the taste test event, many students came out to that and we got a lot of Greener Coalition members to help and it was really cool.  We had a generic brand and then a product that came straight from the farm. It was cool seeing student’s facial expressions on the different tastes — they could tell the difference between the generic brand and the real, from-the-farm food and it was really cool seeing their expressions.

How has this position helped you with your career path?

The position helped me come out of my comfort zone and connect with different people. It helped me be more open to new things and become a leader and to connect with people and not be afraid to ask for help when I needed it.  Having local foods in the caf will make students healthier and my major is biology and I want to work in helping people be healthier, and have better lives, so I feel like it really helped shape my career path.

ZAKIYAA TAYLOR, NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY | Urban & Community Horticulture Major, CLASS OF 2017

Tell us about what you learned as an Ambassador.

I learned a lot as an LFA, because when I came to A&T I didn’t really have a lot of extracurricular activities.  I was in a couple of groups, but I hadn’t really applied the things that I knew and the things I was learning to anything and I really wanted to the opportunity to do that.   My experience as an LFA was really invaluable in the sense that it pushed me in directions that I don’t think I would have pushed myself.  I usually enjoy not talking to people. I’m actually a relatively socially anxious person, so it was pushing me out of my comfort zone and getting me to talk to more people about things that I’m passionate about and teaching people the the things that I know.  I think that was an experience that helped me, excuse the plant pun but, blossom… I feel as though I can talk to people and communicate ideas a lot more thoroughly than I would be able to had I not done it.

I think that community engagement was really important.  It continued to be a theme throughout my LFA experience – just the community support and engagement from other people and the reinforcement that what you’re doing is something that’s good and something that people care about and that there were resources and people and support available at all times.  That in and of itself is one of the best experiences I’ve had from being an LFA —  just knowing that people are there to support you in your ideas and celebrate you when you follow them through and come together and collaborate.  I think that’s the best part.

How has the position helped you in finding your career path or finding your next job?

So the position helped you explore agricultural marketing as a career path?

I don’t think I would have thought of agriculture marketing at all had I not done the LFA program.

Check out Zakiyaa’s Greens Zine at www.facebook.com/greenszine

Learn more about the Local Food Ambassador Program at nc10percent.com/lfaprogram

March 6, 2017 | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact | Robyn Stout, Statewide Coordinator, NC 10% Campaign | 919-515-5362 or rdstout@ncsu.edu

Raleigh, NC:  Where are North Carolinians buying local foods? How much are they spending on local food per month? Which county spends the most buying local foods?

These questions and more are being answered thanks to the NC 10% Campaign and RTI International, which teamed up to develop a series of dashboards to help local farmers, consumers, businesses, and leaders make informed decisions about buying and selling local foods.

The NC 10% Campaign is a collaborative statewide initiative led by the Center for Environmental Farming Systems in partnership with NC Cooperative Extension that encourages business and individuals to commit 10% of their existing food budget to locally raised, caught, and produced foods.

“Analyzing the NC 10% Campaign’s data from 8,000 members, we found that on average members spend $30 dollars per month on local foods, and most are buying from farmers’ markets,” said Peter Baumgartner, data scientist in RTI’s Center for Data Science, who helped develop the dashboards. “We also found that members from Wake County reported spending the most on local foods, about $700,000 was spent between 2010 and 2015.”

“Being able to visualize the data by county, aggregates of counties, or Cooperative Extension districts and to overlay that over time makes the data more accessible and helps us understand how to support local food efforts across the state,” said Robyn Stout, Statewide Coordinator of the NC 10% Campaign.  There were over 580,000 lines of data to analyze.

The information from the dashboards can be used to help:

• Farmers determine where to sell their produce by understanding which sources – farmers’ markets, roadside stands, or grocery stores – are most popular in their county.
• Consumers compare their spending to the county average.
• Inform planners, educators, and local government officials on the characteristics of local food purchasing in their region.

A leader in collecting, analyzing, and leveraging data, RTI looked at five years’ worth of data on local food spending in North Carolina that was self-reported by the NC 10% Campaign’s nearly 8,000 members.*

The interactive dashboards, available on NC 10% Campaign’s website, allow visitors to search for data from individual counties, as well as view statewide totals.

*The data is from NC 10% Campaign members who chose to activate their membership and input their local foods spending data weekly.

The NC 10% Campaign is an initiative of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS), a partnership of North Carolina State University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. CEFS develops and promotes just and equitable food and farming systems that conserve natural resources, strengthen communities, improve health outcomes, and provide economic opportunities in North Carolina and beyond.

For more information, visit www.cefs.ncsu.edu.

RTI International is an independent, nonprofit research institute dedicated to improving the human condition. Clients rely on us to answer questions that demand an objective and multidisciplinary approach—one that integrates expertise across the social and laboratory sciences, engineering, and international development. We believe in the promise of science, and we are inspired every day to deliver on that promise for the good of people, communities, and businesses around the world.

For more information, visit www.rti.org.

Funding for this project was provided by a Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SSARE) grant: “Quantifying the Multiplier Effect: What sustainable local food systems can mean to local communities,” (LS12-248).

Raleigh, NC (March 17, 2016) – Trustees of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation have awarded a grant to the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) to support the NC 10% Campaign’s efforts to create more markets for low-resourced farmers by connecting universities across the state, especially Historically Black Colleges and Universities, with farmers who can supply fresh, local food.

This project is an expansion of the NC 10% Campaign – a statewide collaborative initiative of CEFS and NC Cooperative Extension – to increase demand for local foods by encouraging consumers, institutions, businesses, and organizations to commit 10 percent of their existing food dollars to locally produced foods. Funds from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation will help establish student leadership on campuses across the state to assist with outreach to local farmers and producers.

“The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation supports organizations that aim to increase local economies and foster collaboration,” said Joy Vermillion Heinsohn, assistant director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. “The Center for Environmental Farming Systems is working to build healthy community food systems that sustainably and justly enhance community economic development efforts and provide under-resourced farmers with new opportunities to build individual wealth. We are proud to be a partner in achieving this shared vision.”

The NC 10% Campaign’s Local Food Ambassador (LFA) Program cultivates student leadership, promotes awareness of local foods, and supports place-based food access solutions at NC universities and colleges. This grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation will allow the NC 10% Campaign to connect low-resourced farmers with new markets specifically at Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, North Carolina Central University, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and Winston-Salem State University, and will inform statewide models for farm-to-institution procurement.

“Many of these universities are major economic drivers in their communities,” said Robyn Stout, State Program Coordinator of the NC 10% Campaign. “Connecting university markets with local farmers encourages local food infrastructure development and economic viability within the community, which are aspects of a thriving and resilient food system. This award is a win-win because it will also serve the students who are passionate about increasing access to healthy foods on their campuses.”

The grant is awarded through North Carolina State University, and will enable Campaign program staff at both NC State University and North Carolina A&T State University to collaborate with the Real Food Challenge – a successful national organization promoting equitable, sustainable food systems – to provide support and training for the Local Food Ambassador students and their university teams of NC Cooperative Extension agents, local farmers, University Sustainability Offices, Dining Services, and faculty/staff.

On November 20, 2015, Trustees voted to approve 83 grants totaling $7.5 million to organizations across North Carolina.

Raleigh, NC:  The NC 10% Campaign, an initiative of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, has been awarded a two-year, $78,547 grant from the Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education – Professional Development Program (SARE-PDP) of the United States Department of Agriculture.  The grant was awarded through North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T).

The NC 10% Campaign encourages consumers – individuals, organizations, and institutions – to spend at least 10% of their existing food dollars on foods raised, produced, and caught in North Carolina.  The Campaign partners with NC Cooperative Extension (NCCE) on local food programming.  Responding to the growing interest in local foods in North Carolina, in 2010 NCCE designated Local Food Coordinators (LFCs) in each of the state’s 100 counties and with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.  This project, titled “Strengthening University Local Food Systems: Train the Trainer Approach through Extension, Student, and Food Service Collaboration”, will build NC Cooperative Extension (NCCE) educators’ capacity to lead effective teams with the goal of increasing university procurement of local foods.

“Connecting North Carolina’s county-based Cooperative Extension local food experts with the budding farm-to-institution movement statewide will facilitate direct links to local farmers and resources, while hands-on training will increase agents’ understanding of institutional food service challenges and opportunities,” said Robyn Stout, State Program Coordinator for the NC 10% Campaign.

As part of their farm-to-institution efforts, the NC 10% Campaign has worked to develop student Local Food Ambassadors (LFAs) to cultivate student leadership and promote awareness of local foods at three public minority-serving universities: Fayetteville State University, NC A&T, and UNC-Pembroke.  This grant will continue to develop the LFA program at those three universities and propose programs at three additional universities: Elizabeth City State University, NC Central University, and Winston-Salem State University.

County-wide Local Foods Teams will be assembled consisting of the student Local Food Ambassadors, a local farmer, a Local Food Coordinator Extension Agent, a University Sustainability Office faculty mentor, and a University Dining staff member.  In 2015-2016, the NC 10% Campaign will organize these teams while working on capacity-building of Extension Local Food Coordinators, so that they may lead the teams in 2016-2017.

“Through the LFA program we hope to not only engage minority student leaders but to also educate small to mid-sized farmers on the vendor process and certifications needed in the food service supply chain,” explains Jannety Mosley, the NC 10% Campaign Coordinator from NC A&T.

Project partners include Aramark, Sodexo, and Thompson Hospitality food service providers and the Real Food Challenge.

For more information about the NC 10% Campaign, please visit www.nc10percent.com.

“Reaching this goal is a testament to the commitment of our partners to source and purchase North Carolina foods whenever possible,” says Teisha Wymore, outgoing State Coordinator of the NC 10% Campaign.*

The Campaign, which recently marked its third anniversary, aims to support a local food economy in North Carolina. Supporters sign up on the campaign’s website, nc10percent.com, and record their local foods purchases each week. The Campaign’s database aggregates purchases and allows individuals and business partners to track their progress over time. The campaign has social media, educational, and community-building components as well.

The NC 10% Campaign has been so successful that other states are beginning to use it as a model for local food initiatives in their own regions. This summer, Connecticut launched its own 10% Campaign, organized by buyCTgrown.com, a collaboration of the Connecticut Northeast Organic Farming Association, CitySeed, the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, UConn Extension, and Connecticut Farm Bureau Association.

They were particularly drawn to the functionality of the NC 10% Campaign’s database. “This online tracking program will be very valuable to us in Connecticut because it will put a spotlight on and provide a standardized approach to collecting information about how much our residents and businesses are spending on locally grown products,” says Jiff Martin, UConn Extension’s Sustainable Food Systems Educator.

Other states are in varying stages of developing their own 10% Campaigns, as well. Efforts are underway in both Michigan and South Carolina. “Many states are interested in adopting an initiative for supporting local foods and farms, and they are looking to us as a successful model. We’re proud of our program and excited about the successful relationships we’ve built with other states looking to adopt a local foods initiative,” said Wymore.

Funded by the Golden LEAF Foundation, the NC 10% Campaign works with the NC Cooperative Extension Service in all 100 North Carolina counties and with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. For more information please see nc10percent.com.

*Outgoing State Coordinator of the NC 10% Campaign, Teisha Wymore, has recently transitioned to a new role at CEFS: the Farm to Fork Action Plan Operations Manager. Robyn Stout is now the interim State Coordinator of the NC 10% Campaign and can be reached at robyn_stout@ncsu.edu.

From the September 2013 E-Newsletter

Raleigh, NC:  The Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) is pleased to announce that Teisha Wymore will begin serving as the new Farm to Fork Action Plan Operations Manager, effective immediately.  Ms. Wymore has served CEFS in several capacities over the last few years, most recently as the State Coordinator of the NC 10% Campaign.  In her new capacity, Ms. Wymore will be providing operational support for a new BlueCross and BlueShield of North Carolina Foundation-funded project  led by Christy Shi, designed  to engage and coordinate agencies and stakeholders at the state and local levels around the vision set forth in the first CEFS Farm to Fork Action Plan. “Teisha’s work with the 10% Campaign included the development of strong networks throughout the state. Her shift in focus to this project is going to propel it in the right direction, and I’m thrilled to have her working with me”, says  Shi.

CEFS is also happy to announce that Robyn Stout will become the interim State Coordinator of the NC 10% campaign.  Ms. Stout has been in a leadership role at the Campaign since 2011, and has been engaged in CEFS’ local foods and sustainable agriculture work in varying capacities since 2002.  Ms. Stout brings considerable expertise and knowledge about what it takes for large institutions and individuals to source locally, and will put that expertise to work in her expanded capacity with the NC 10% Campaign.

As of September 20, please forward all NC 10% Campaign correspondence to the attention of Robyn Stout, at robyn_stout@ncsu.edu

The NC 10% Campaign is an initiative of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS), a partnership of NC State University, NC Agricultural & Technical State University, and the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.  CEFS’ mission is to develop and promote food and farming systems that protect the environment, strengthen local communities and provide economic opportunities in North Carolina and beyond. For more information please see cefs.ncsu.edu.

Funded by the Golden LEAF Foundation, the NC 10% Campaign works with the NC Cooperative Extension Service in all 100 North Carolina counties and with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.  For more information please see www.nc10percent.com.