Overview: NC Farm to ECE Local Food Buying Guides (for TA Providers)

Download the Overview: NC Farm to ECE Local Food Buying Guides (for TA Providers), created to support childcare directors, cooks, and staff in incorporating fresh, local ingredients into meals and snacks. This simple, practical guide makes it easier to plan, purchase, and serve local food in early care settings.

NC Guide to Local Food Buying Models for Farm to ECE (for Child Care Providers)

Download our NC Guide to Local Food Buying Models for Farm to ECE (for Child Care Providers), which highlights a variety of practical ways early care programs can source fresh, local food—from partnering with food hubs to using caterers who prioritize local ingredients. This guide offers flexible options to fit different needs and encourages collaboration with families, staff, and community partners.

Local Food Buying Models: For Technical Assistance Providers

Download our NC Guide to Local Food Buying Models for Farm to ECE (for TA Providers), which highlights a variety of practical ways early care programs can source fresh, local food—from partnering with food hubs to using caterers who prioritize local ingredients. This guide offers flexible options to fit different needs and encourages collaboration with families, staff, and community partners.

NC Guide to Buying Local Food for Child Care Programs

Check out our Five-Step NC Guide to Buying Local Food for Child Care Programs, created to support childcare directors, cooks, and staff in incorporating fresh, local ingredients into meals and snacks. This simple, practical guide makes it easier to plan, purchase, and serve local food in early care settings.

NC Guide to Selling Local Food to Child Care Programs (for Farmers and Food Hubs)

We’re excited to share the NC Guide to Selling Local Food to Child Care Programs (for Farmers and Food Hubs), created to help producers and food hubs connect with child care programs across North Carolina. This guide outlines how to engage with early care settings, identify new market opportunities, and build strong relationships with families, staff, and young eaters.

The Farm to Senior Services (F2SS): Guide to Building Networks and Local Food Pathways with Senior Centers is a practical resource for community members, service providers, and local leaders interested in strengthening food access for older adults through local agriculture. This guide offers an overview of senior food services at the federal, state, and local levels, identifies key opportunities to incorporate locally-grown foods, and provides strategies for building effective partnerships.

Click here to download the guide.

Fruit and Vegetable Storage Guide

This guide provides advice about how to store individual types of produce, as well as general information to reduce food waste.

Download here.

COVID-19’s effect on the food system has been complex. Despite the pandemic’s initial shock to supply chains, the system has largely functioned as intended. Yet that is not necessarily a relief for many, who have experienced harm from embedded inequities. While the dislocations associated with the pandemic have been felt broadly, we believe it is important to foreground the negative effects on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals and communities. This is partly the legacy of cultural and policy decisions that have created an inequitable food system.

Duke World Food Policy Center and the Center for Environmental Farming Systems present a summary of how the NC philanthropic community engages with the food system. This summation was developed through surveys and interviews of members of the North Carolina Network of Grantmakers to identify the strategies of in-state organizations.

Click here to download the report.