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NC 10% Campaign

The NC 10% Campaign is a statewide initiative of CEFS and NC Cooperative Extension that encourages individuals and businesses to spend 10% of their existing food dollars on locally-produced foods.

Are you a consumer, business, or institution that buys food or a community organization that promotes local foods? Sign Up Now to partner with the Campaign and show your support for NC agriculture & fisheries.

The Campaign aims to stimulate economic opportunities for North Carolina’s small and mid-scale family farmers and fisheries through:

web-based local foods search & data tracking dashboard
partner marketing & promotion through multi-media outlets & print materials
outreach & education via sector programming & community events
producer/buyer, consumer, & student networking

The NC 10% Campaign creates local food programming tools with county-based NC Cooperative Extension agents for all sectors of the Local Food System to encourage job creation and economic development potential as well as healthy eating and sustainable communities.

The NC 10% Campaign creates online and printed materials that Extension Agents and partners can use to promote local foods. Visit www.nc10percent.com/resources for downloadable resources.

Why 10%?

North Carolinians spend about $35 billion a year on food. If individuals spent 10% -- $1.05 per day -- locally, about $3.5 billion would be available in the local economy.

Programs

University Local Foods Programming

The Local Food Ambassador (LFA) Program encourages local foods education and outreach on university campuses by engaging the student body through events and media promotion, supporting local foods in alignment with the campus sustainability mission, connecting university and community advocates, providing resources for food service organizations, and mentoring future leaders in understanding community-based food systems. More info or to donate to the program, visit nc10percent.com/lfaprogram.

UFOODS (University Food Systems) was a two-year project designed to research and develop new market opportunities for farmers by building collaborative supply chains links from farms to university campuses in North Carolina. Researchers at North Carolina State University and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University focused work at the six universities that partner with the LFA Program. Access the UFoods How It Works Handbook: A Guide to University Food Systems & Local Food Programs and more info at ufoodsnc.com.

Grower Buyer Connections Events

The NC 10% Campaign and NC Growing Together work with NC Cooperative Extension agents to plan opportunities for growers and buyers to meet in an efficient and respectful speed-meeting format. These successful facilitated events can connect GAP-certified producers with wholesalers, market farmers with restaurants and cooperatives, or a mix of small/mid-scale growers and buyers. The Grower-Buyer Connections Planning Guide can be found in the Resources section of this website.

Local Food Video Screening Toolkit

The NC 10% Campaign has worked with Vittles Films to create a series of film shorts, Local Food Spotlights, that highlight local food heroes making local food a reality. We have developed a Film Screening Toolkit that provides an event checklist, curriculum, and discussion questions to assist organizers in sharing our videos with community or campus groups. We have paired these screenings with Ugly Fish Bingo and other fun activities with great success! Film shorts include Collards in the Cafeteria, Freshly Retired, Ugly & Wild: Learning to Love NC Fish, and What Can Be: Working Landscapes and New Ideas.

County Campaign Toolkit

Extension agents and community organizers can use a County 10% Campaign for local food education efforts in their county. Agents can tap into the marketing and promotion platform and local food data tracking software of the statewide NC 10% Campaign. The NC 10% Campaign created a County Campaign Toolkit so that organizers can utilize existing templates, timelines, strategies to easily run a local food campaign that fits into their existing extension work and that assists consumers, farmers, and businesses in their counties.

Loyal Local Challenge

The NC 10% Campaign partners with industry leaders that focus on seasonal and local fresh food and know the importance of supporting the local food economy. These partners also take time from their busy schedules to report their purchases to the Campaign. In honor of their tireless passion for creative, sustainable food…the Loyal Local Challenge is our way of rewarding these partners and saying THANK YOU! Find out more here.

Personalized Data-Tracking Dashboard

Consumer members and business partners (that purchase food) track their local food spending via personalized dashboards. See what’s happening in your county or what’s new with the NC 10% Campaign! Compare yourself to other members/partners in your county! See how your commitment to local foods improves NC’s economy in real-time via the Campaign’s statewide online local foods tracker. Sign Up Now!