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Charlotte/Concord meeting

Dec 8th, 1:30-4:30pm, 118 in attandance

Cabarrus Arena, directions: http://www.cabarrusarena.com

 

What are the inhibitors & facilitators to building a local, sustainable food system?

 

Inhibitors/Problems

Lack of:

  • Professional services that understand agriculture & farmers
    • attorneys, accountants, bankers, etc…
  • Food system businesses & liaisons (4)
    • Brokers to deal with small quantities
    • Logistics & distribution
    • Connections between growers & institutional buyers
  • Central organizing entities (2)
    • agricultural chamber of commerce
  • Physical facilities for food processing, packaging, cooking & storage (5)
    • Community kitchens
    • Animal slaughter
    • Cold Storage
  • Credit & financial support (e.g., insurance, start-up loans) (4)
  • Farmer cooperatives (3)
    • Independent nature of farmers
  • Local labeling (5)
    • State identification of local
    • Lack of credibility with existing retail labeling efforts – need a definition
    • Source labeling “face on the food”
  • Local Meat & Dairy (3)
    • Venison supply chain & market
  • CSAs-they are all booked (2)
  • Connections between consumers & farmers – not enough (3)

Challenges

  • Societal/Cultural Values (3)
    • Food production is devalued as a profession
    • Food is not worth spending money on vs. other interests
    • Food quality is considered less important than price
  • Farmers – not enough (12)
    • Cost of entry into farming as a profession
      • Land prices
      • Equipment & inputs
    • Lack of interest/appeal to next generation
      • Hard work with no benefits
      • Rural brain drain
      • Farming vegetables isn’t ’sexy”
    • Lack of profitability
      • Production costs are too high
  • Access to markets/supply chain broken (5)
    • Distance between supplier to market
    • Lack of relationship between growers & retail, restaurant buyers
    • Logistics
    • Restaurants & institutions focus only on price
  • Imported foods
  • GAP audit process (2)
  • Consumer Awareness / Public Perceptions (8)
    • Lack of understanding of seasonality & cooking
    • Cultural limitations (diet & negative connotations)
    • Lack of understanding & ability to identify local foods
    • Where to buy local foods?
    • Expect low prices and all-year availability of produce
    • Understanding food situation (e.g., age of most of farmers)
    • Farming is no longer a full time profession
    • Focus message on “food production” rather than “farming”
  • Consumer Convenience (5)
    • Limited hours at farmers markets
    • Convenience of / access to fast food
    • Work 50 hrs/week; no time to cook
  • Youth Education (3)
    • Lack of support for youth development (4-H)
    • Appeal to next generation
      • Lack of education in Highschools & Colleges
    • Lack of cultural activities for young farmers in rural areas
  • Farmer’s Markets (3)
    • Limited foot traffic
    • Assumption that they only exist in the summer
    • New markets need new producers
  • Restaurants
    • Fewer “mom & pop” restaurants
  • Media Coverage (2)
    • Not enough advocacy in the press
  • Affordability of Local Food
    • Need WIC/bus access
  • Dominance of existing agribusiness model (5)
    • Fundamental economies of scale
    • Industrial model
    • “Cheap Food Policy”
    • Regulations that support big ag & centralized production & processing
  • Limited profitability of urban farms
  • Lack of enforcement of environmental laws (e.g., Jordan Lake rules)
  • Urban sprawl & development pressure (5)
    • Annexation laws
    • Lack of walkability to local food markets
    • Lack of land use planning to support sustainable food production
  • Local laws & regulations (2)
    • HOA don’t like gardens, chickens, compost
    • Nuisance laws

Opportunities

  • Artists can help depict farming & ag landscapes positively
  • High fuel prices
  • City & County Support
    • county-wide enforcement of soil & water regs
    • support for local markets
    • Right to Farm laws
      • Federal support
  • Direct marketing
    • Community building
    • Churches
  • Emergency foods extending to community gardens
    • Gardens (3)
  • Community
  • Interest in grow your own
    • Farm to School (5)
  • Gardens in schools
  • School lunch program
    • Support for educational infrastructure (4)
  • Extension service
  • Community education about benefits of local foods
  • Increased awareness of what is available
  • Sustainable agriculture in community colleges
    • Dehydrating & canning
    • Restaurants promoting local & organic foods
  • Johnson & Wales University
  • Local media
  • Funding
  • RAFI grants
    • Consumer demand & public interest (7)
  • Local, national food movement
  • Appreciation of taste, heirloom varieties
  • Person-to-person contact
  • Food scares
  • Farmers are interested!
    • Use of internet to open up new markets
    • Grower Support (3)
  • Grower schools, internships
  • Growers Networks
    • Linking older & younger farmers
    • Farm preservation
  • Land development that retains farming activities
    • Direct sales through institutions – churches, schools, hospitals
    • Food security
    • Educational initiatives (3)
  • Change curriculum standards
  • Museums & information educational organizations

 

“Game Changer” Solutions/Ideas for Moving Forward

The following ideas were identified as “game changers” – big ideas that are meaningful, impactful and doable in a 2 year time frame:

 

Regulatory Relief for Small Producers
Policies need to be scaled to the size of the producer; barrier to entry!
Regulations-poultry processing on the farm is too limited; feds let you do 20,000; NC state law is a barrier.

Transportation Tax-taxes on food that represent food miles traveled; create economic incentive for local food; the further your food travels, the higher the tax you pay; tax revenue is deposited into fund that supports sustainable agriculture & local food systems development. 

Local Restaurants–financial incentives to restaurants who use local food; they get a break on their taxes; also incorporate a rating system (add a star to the 5 star system) that rewards restaurants for sourcing locally.

Local Foods = Green Jobs; connect to the Obama transition team and administration and emphasize that local food systems are economic development & new jobs

Involve the County Commissioners in the March Summit!!!

Solutions/Ideas for Moving Forward – Diverse Partnerships

New partnerships

  • Slow Food & Future Farmers of America; overcome Monsanto’s interests
  • 4-H club-start here to create grassroots effort in public schools
  • Cooperative Extension partner more with:

Local schools to plant gardens

Churches (4)

Faith-based partnerships involving community gardens and CSAs; “Church-Supported Agriculture.”

Extension engages churches across the state to increase awareness of local, seasonal foods & their importance in terms of nutrition and taking care of our poorest citizens.

Investigate model of Morman Church re: emergency food supplies, Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc…

Community Colleges

New school organizations focused on Slow Food

  • Grower alliances to network & leverage resources

Build partnerships with local Chambers of Commerce.

Formulate & fund local food policy councils.

Partner with civic groups to help sponsor markets.

Create business models that can be used to educate potential entrepreneurs. 

Better partnerships with developers;

Partner with hospitals to host markets.

Create Agricultural Chamber of Commerce for farmers, lending organizations, county commissioners, restaurants.

Partner with community organizations like SEEDS in Durham.

Education / Farm to School

  • Community college classes with local farmers (2)
  • Gardens in all public schools – Cooperative Extension can help
  • Grower schools – more of them
  • Greenhouses in public schools which are not open in the summer.
  • Edible school yards everywhere (3)

Farm to school contracts between farmers & schools; creates guaranteed constant market for portion of production; could decrease cost of food and create tax base; need a food cooperative to coordinate (2).

Give schools “state credit” for purchasing local.

Direct Marketing/Farmers Markets

  • Gift certificate programs
  • Give preference to local at all state markets
  • Work with public transportation for access to markets
  • Better WIC access
  • Establish hours for market that are permanent
  • Promote more “food clubs” (2)

Counties / State

  • County & state funded institutional purchasing should be local foods (3)
  • Lift state regulations on using local food in cafeterias to start restoring school kitchens.
  • Use state and or county and/or city owned property for growing food (4)
  • Include farms in “greenway” planning & use of open space
  • Consider how policies effect & support small urban operations as well as rural.
  • Make land available for incubator farms; create incentives for landowners.
  • Land use planning should be done on a regional (not county) basis / scope; target  a percentage of land that should be preserved for food production.
  • Statewide all local day at all state institutions (including schools).
  • Invite county commissioners, environmental leaders & city councils to March Summit.
  • Financial support for local farmers markets.
  • Create Agricultural Development Coordinators at the county level

Public Health

  • Pediatricians need to become advocates & educators
  • Continuing education for nurses & doctors
  • Nutrition classes to new parents (along with lactation & birthing classes)
  • NC Department of Health focused on school garden projects
  • No Child Left Inside – being on a farm is time outside, gardening is time outside
  • Meet families where they spend their leisure time

Regulatory/Policy

Reduce minimum size of agricultural land (10 acres) which qualifies for agricultural tax abatement, to allow for/encourage part time food production (2)

Level the “subsidy playing field” (make sure small food producers are eligible for same incentive treatment as large producers).

Scale-appropriate regulation (e.g., poultry situation).

State tax credits / subsidies for small farmers (4)

Incentives for diversified production systems that utilize livestock waste for crop production

Incentives for organic producers and grain producers who sustain local livestock producers

Impact fee-whenever there is development or annexation of farmland, charge an impact fee which would be paid into a general Farmland Preservation Fund; fees to be paid by developer to be used to preserve farmland statewide (2)

Suspend estate (inheritance) taxes for farms to keep them in families.

Help provide organizational support for farmers to have a voice in legislature & policy building. 

Increase protection from “eminent domain” Voluntary Agricultural Districts (VAD) do not provide adequate protection.

Present use value of farmland has ceiling but no floor; available opportunity to cut farmers’ taxes to a low level.

Tax breaks to restaurants who use local food

Remove state rules that prohibit use of local/on-site food in public schools.

Tax on foods depending on how far they travel from production to sale.

Soil Quality (3) -

Create a program for “transferable” fertility credits.

Preservation of high quality soils for agricultural use.

Improve soil quality; protect NC’s topsoil; focus on how we can “produce” soil through such practices as composting; requires educational shift form “conventional” to “conservation.”

Regulations to support environmentally friendly sound management of waste streams;

Infrastructure

Create or enable value-added processing facilities for small independent producers.

Defray cost of 3rd party audit & accreditation and insurance

Promote knowledge & experience of growing practices OVER accreditation and fear-based policies.

Website with all approved farms, products grown, seasonality & contact information.

County-funded cold storage facilities (2)

Mobile animal processing (3)

Small scale fixed facilities (3).

  • Create inspected slaughter plant for deer to feed everyone, not just hunters.
  • Create more ECOs.
  • Dairy processing.

Research

  • Focus research on season extension strategies
  • Remove barriers to shelter growing

Inventory of available land and what is good for agriculture & programs to save it (2)

Statewide food assessment-where ar the markets, producers, processing plants, grain processing, transportation & distribution.

 

Market Labeling

  • Create labeling system for NC producers to facilitate branding & marketing
  • Organized identification of local food at markets & restaurants
  • Require labeling and demand preferred location for local.

 

PR/Marketing

Use existing outlets to increase consumer education; grower profiles, features in local news, bundle with weather report & include pictures, make media efforts age appropriate, utilize internet; maybe work with Cooperative Extension

Dispel myths about “ignorant farmers” utilize field days, farm tours, internships, media coverage, FFA, 4-H, make farming a profession to be revered and aspired to.

Educational programs / farm tours for county commissioners & public policy makers.

Focus statewide media campaign on value of agricultural land for agritourism, food production, cooking & eating NC foods, etc…(study campaigns like this in other states.)

Focus on the real cost of food.

Create a reward for the “farmer” of the year to reward innovation in local food.

Utilize local government channels to publicize local food availability.

Educate consumers about current food system & need for local, sustainable.

 

Support for New & Transitioning Farmers

Connect farmers with landowners–Need a program to match up young farmers with “absentee” land holders; list or repository of farmers that want to buy/lease land that becomes available so it can be kept as a farm;

Craig’s List” to act as a clearing house for equipment, resources and information clearinghouse for farmers; NCDA could be a central location to provide resources for farmers/prospective farmers (2)

Cost share with county extension for large pieces of equipment that could be shared in the community.

Attention to the issues of middle-sized farms.

Programs to assess farms for energy uses & alternatives to current energy uses & a solution program (2).

Reevaluation of tax codes/incentives for farmland uses, ordinances, zoning, etc…

“Farm Corps” model of reimagining 4-H perception and outlet for school education.

Incubator farms with direct sales to schools, churches, non-traditional locales.

Encourage diversity among farmers; connect with Latino & other culturally diverse farmers.

Incubator projects – address land prices being too high to get started.

Ban GMOs-farmers need to be able to save their own seeds & not worry about cross pollination or the threat of being sued by Monsanto.

Urban/Suburban Communities

  • Victory garden approach (2)
  • Strategic placement of community gardens
  • Expand Parks & Rec community garden programs (2)

Find a model HOA that will change their policies to support gardens; planned communities with agricultural emphasis.

Incentives for folks who grow foods & use cisterns for their home & community gardens

Extension & community college support for “side businesses”; urban gardeners and others who may not intend to become full-time farmes but who wish to grow for a CSA or farmers’ market or specialty products.

Use of stormwater for irrigation of community gardens.

New development should include schools, small farmland, retail and related industries including rainwater harvesting, solar & wind power, etc…

 

Farm Labor

  • Coalition in support of farm labor.

 

 current efforts 

Grow More Farms

Know Your Farms, Christy Shi

-food buying club

-distribution for local farms

 

Farm to Table

Dinners/menus

Ratcliff

Building community support and recognition of local farms

 

Local public services in agriculture areas to reduce housing pressure

Cab Co.

 

Incubator Farm Atondo Road, Cabbarrus

 

Incubator Programs

 

Grow More Farms & Farmers  HOW?

-land for farming is very scarce in this area

-emphasize alternative farming i.e. fish, green house veggies, mushrooms

-make grant money available to would be farmers for land

-create new ways to produce food in existing facilities

Landis Gourmet Mushrooms

Mushrooms in Old Cotton Mills

 

Farmer to Farmer Program

1. Cooperative Extension

2. Chatham County Farmers

3. Carrboro Farmer’s Market

 

Extension Field Days and programming

Demonstrate new methods of processing crops statewide

 

Cabarrus

Incubator Farm

 

Town of  Davidson

Environmental sustainability study group designing recommendations for local food including creation of healthy leases for new farmers, Christy Shi

 

Incubator Farm

Cabarrus County Coop Ext

1/4 to ½ acre plate to experiment with production to determine if they want to pursue a farm venture

 

Farmland Preservation Program

“Putting Small Acreage to Work” – educational workshops for small gardener

Lara Warden, Gaston County Extension Agent, 922-2118

 

Grow cities up not out

City planners involved in vision for farming

Local farms/access report of city planning

Marilyn Marks,SOSAWACD, End Hunger.org

 

FFA & 4-H

Mentorships

Connect interested kids with farmers

 

Farm Incubator

Caburrus

 

Connect to youth resources to make connections to farming

 

Farmer’s Markets

Cabarrus

 

Vol. Ag. Dist.

 

Leaf Light

 

Lard Preservation through land use planning

Cabarrus Co.

 

Cabarrus County

Incubator Farm

 

Farm Incubator in Cabarrus County

 

Farmland Preservation Ordinance

 

Webinar – Farm Incubator Seminar (CFSA)

CFSA.org

 

Solution: market to “fringe” not choir

i.e. market to people who are interested but not yet engaged

 

Monthly meeting, 2nd Thursday 8:45 – 9:10 meeting, Friendship Trace

Nutrition Coalition Meetings

Foothills Fresh

Carolina Farm

Stewardship Assoc.

 

Central Clearing House with information classifieds

 

Direct sales through churches, schools (religious) hospitals and other institutions

 

Eating our local foods

Spend money locally

 

CFSA

Incubator Farm Program

Bryan Green, Orange County; Cabarrus

 

Farm Incubator Program

 

Carolina Farm Stewardship Internships

Warren Wilson NCSU

Central Carolina U

 

Catawba Land Conservancy

NC Farmland Trust Fund

 

 

Strong & Diverse

Lack of Distribution

Farm Co-Ops

Grocery Co-Ops

 

Community Kitchens, canners, freezer, slaughterhouse, pack houses, warehousing

 

Strong land use plans

 

Clean Water Source

Davidson County

 

Cruse Meat Processing in Cabarrus

 

Tim Will, Foothills Fresh

Local food distribution from mountains to Charlotte area restaurants

 

Community Gardens

Potential for more organized programs such as seeds

 

School Gardens

1. Local hospital (First Health Community Services)

2. Cooperative Extension/Master Gardens

3. Moore County Schools

4. Town of Southern Pines

 

Slow Foods

Working on education and support for farms, restaurants and consumers

 

Know Your Farms

Buying club for local foods

Contact: Christy Shi

 

Native Meats

New local meat producer and distributor from S.C.

Rolle Knokke is the principal

 

Farmer’s Markets

 

First Garden/First School Garden

1. First Health

2. Cooperative Extension/Master Gardens

3. Town of Southern Pines

4. Town of Aberdeen

5. Moore County Schools

 

Need to have more effort to develop marketplace network.  Making sure everybody is on the same page.

 

BRAC Regional Task Force and Extension

Integrate Sustainable Ag. Trials into farmland preservation plans

 

Friendship Trays

Rent out cold storage and shares use of kitchen

 

Food Buy

Compass Group

Foster Caveness Distribution

 

Farm Fresh Market

Rutherfordton

 

Know Your Farms, LLC

Davidson, NC

Distributing from farmers in counties to restaurants, individuals, etc in Charlotte

 

Slaughter Facility in Cabarrus County

Grant-funded

Co-Op Extension

 

Almance County

“Kitchen” available to process fruits, jellies, etc

 

County Programs

-Cruse’s Meats


Central database of “in season” crops to facilitate contacting growers

IDEA!

 

4H Club Fair

 

Providers Guides for Local Groups

(Restaurants, Institutions, Retail Looking for local products)

 

Elma C. Lomax

Incubator Farms

David Goforth, Cab County Extension

 

Agribusiness Days

Cab Co. Fair/Sept

6th Graders

Debbie Bost

Cab. Co. Extension

 

Foothills Fresh Coop

Foothillsfresh.com

NC Cooperative Extension

Farm Tours

Education

 

NC Farms to Schools

NCDA

Rowan-Salisbury Schools

 

Come to the Table, Regional Conference, Charlotte, Myers Park Baptist Church 2/27/09

Stewardship of Creation

Presbytery of Charolotte

Cabarrus County CROP Hunger Walk

Project Food, Land & People (k-12 curriculum)

Dennis Testerman 704-920-3303

 

Urban Ministries

CPCC – 704-330-4826

Grows Some Things For

 

Farm Trials, Farm Tours: Generate Interest and educate

Greater Infrastructure in Triangle area

In CLT-interested consumer base

Public Education can get consumers interested

Farmer’s Market is an example of how it works

Farm collectives share equipment and resources

Barrier to Entry=product liability

Industrial Agriculture Model

How do market?

How do we overcome barriers/regulation?

How do we bring in new ideas to demographic that is perhaps set in its ways?

Great interest from school food providers

Demand outstrips supply

Need to connect to demand to suppliers→constraints (Govt regulated)

Orange County

The Breeze Farm

Incubation Project

Carolina Farm Stewards

WEbinar with incubators

3 hours!

Established land for an incubator farm

Access to land

Mentor people interested in farming

Cabarrus County Mgr.

 

Urban Farming Tour

Moore County

Jan Leitschch

 

Slow Food Charlotte

Shamrock Elementary

 

Local Cooking Classes including food preservation

CPCC


Community Gardens alive and well

Schools K-12

Aldersgate

Reedy Creek

Omni Montessori Farm School

Blakeney Heath Road

Charlotte, NC

ATTN: Gazae Baker

 

Youth Groups

4-H

Future Farmers Assoc at high schools

 

CFSA

On-farm dinners

Partner with Johnson and Wates

 

Ask Americorp – VISTA to provide staff support

 

Identify related college degrees and careers for expansions of health/food business

 

Talk to 4-H about local organic food and the Alice Waters Model for Edible School Yard

Start School chapters (K-12) and support existing ones

 

Nutritional Food Preparers

 

Nutrition and Public Health Policies for Youth Advocacy

 

Educational Facilities and Retreat Sites

 

Talk to “FFA” about local organic food and the Alice Waters model for Edible School with money that competes with corporation and is already integrated into schools but need to understand this

 

Local markets

CSA Models

“Tailgate” Farmers

 

“Green Horns”

Finding young farmers

www.greenhorns.net

Severine Fleming

 

Local Government

 

CFSA

 

Slow Foods

 

Cooperative Extensions

 

School Education Programs

(Food For Thought)

 

Expand Market Access

 

WIC acceptance at Farmer’s Market

Matthews and Stately County

$4 cards for purchase

 

Urban Farm

 

Slow Food Charlotte

Slow Food Carolina

Piedmont Region

 

Charlotte Tailgate Farmer’s Market

Lynn Caldwell

 

Farmer’s Markets

 

New Farmer’s Markets for low produce purchases, Cabarrus Davidson

 

Murdock Farmer’s Market (new) Kann, NC

Cabarrus

 

Community supported agriculture

 

Connect farmers with CO-OP, food clubs, restaurants, etc

Big food uses sales folks and advertising, small farms can’t afford brain-storm

 

Extension agents bring grant, cast share and new market opportunities to farmers, Melissa Hall, Moore County

 

Moore County Farmers Market

1. Farmers

2. Town of Southern Pines

3. Cooperative Extension

4. First Health

 

To continue educating consumer to entry of market i.e. options


Know Your Farms – Christy Shi, Davidson

Bread Riot-Maria Thomson, Salisbury

Johnston & Wales, Charlotte

 

Farmer’s Markets

 

Foothills Fresh

Regional local foods marketing effort coordinated by NC Cooperative Extension

 

School Gardening Program in Gaston County is coordinated by NC Cooperative Extension (D. Fogerty 704-922-2130)

 

Shamrock Elementary School, Thom Duncan Garden Slow Food

 

Farmer’s Market in Kann sponsored by the Research Center Murdock Committee

 

Local only markets (Charlotte area)

Matthews – website

Tailgate – website

Davidson – affiliated with Town of Davidson

Gastonia – Carol Schwab

Mt. Holly – Lee Brinkley

 

#5,000 grant to Health Dept for public school gardens

 

Murdoch Center, Kannapolis

 

Winter markets, Matthews, Davidson, Regional and Tailgate

 

Unity for Poverty and Hunger

Committee that includes heads of all food charities in Charl/Meek

 

Improving Regulatory Environment

 

More markets

Restaurants and Farm Markets


Gaston County Government Employees

Farmer’s Market Incentives

Employee Wellness

Linda Minges, Linda_minges@ncsu.edu

 

Farmer’s Markets in many counties

 

Direct marketing to restaurants, etc

 

“Goodness Grows” Program, NCDK

 

Purchase of local foods by school systems and other government agencies

 

Know Your Farms Local Food Club

 

“Foothills Fresh” promotes local food in six western Piedmont counties

 

Large institutional suppliers

-compass

-sysco ex

-PYA/US Foods

 

Food Broker to connect farm to outlets

EX: Know Your Farms.com

ATTN: Christy SH

 

Abundance of Farmers Markets in Charlotte Metro area (too many to list)

 

Farmers to backyard gardens

-selling organic plants to homeowners

 

Local natural/organic food

Business-“Natural Gourmet”, Jane Little 704-788-2334

Very little being done nutritionally or for sustainability or organics

Incubator farm on Atanov Ro

 

ECO

(Eastern Carolina Organics)


New Urban Gardens-Belmont/Charlotte

Rich Deming

 

New Area Farmer’s Market – Govt’s are supporting

 

Food buying clubs (Know Your Farms)

Christy and Joe Shi

 

Strong Infrastructure

RAFI

Come to the Table

 

ASAP

 

NCDAF

Farm to School

<ncagr.com>

 

Edible School Yard

Shamrock Elementary

 

Lynn Robertson

Farm to School Program

 

Urban Minority

Edible landscaping

Volunteering

 

Volunteer to help at farms:

Gleaning, harvesting, weeding

 

Cooperative Extensions

Municipal Support

Farmer’s Markets

Community College

Small Business Centers to support business planning and assistance

CPCC, Stanly CC

South Piedmont and others

Market Shelters

Farmer’s Market

WIC Program

Helps farmers and low income women, infants and children

Cooperative Extension and Tourism to support farm tourism, Davidson County

Farm tours as part of an education process, Davidson County

Friendship Trays preordered/paid for a local farm to grow food

Meals on Wheels, culinary school, gleaners share a location/kitchen in Charlotte

FFA & 4H need to improve local foods as pects in programs

Money to support partnership education and networking