NCGT Monthly Project Update

In This Issue

NCGT Meeting Notes

Save the Date: NCGT Research Symposium, April 22

NCGT Partner Profile: Carolina Farm Stewardship Association

Third Annual NC Catch Summit Scheduled for February 6 & 7

Meeting Notes
Read the notes from our last Management Team meeting (opens as a .pdf).

About NCGT

GOAL | Bring more locally-grown foods - produce, meat, dairy, and seafood - into mainstream retail and food service supply chains, thus enhancing food security by increasing access to local foods and by strengthening the economics of small to mid-sized farm and fishing operations.

STRATEGY | Identify the most promising solutions by which local production and associated value-added activities can enter local retail and food service markets, pilot these solutions in North Carolina, and evaluate and report the results for the benefit of other states and regions.

January 31, 2014

Greetings all,

Happy New Year! Thanks for reading our monthly project update and please let us know what you think.

Sincerely,

The NCGT Management Team

Save the Date: NCGT Research Symposium, April 22

NC Growing Together's next all-partner meeting will be a Research Symposium on April 22, from 1:30 - 5:00 pm at the J.C. Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh. There will be presentations on NCGT-sponsored research, as well as plenty of time for partner networking.

Presentations at the Symposium will include a Consumer Research Team update from Dr. Molly DeMarco (UNC-Chapel Hill), a presentation on preliminary findings from Drew Marticorena (NC State) on the economic benefits of NC local food supply chains, and research results from six student teams enrolled in the NC State Supply Chain Resource Cooperative's Local Food System Supply Chains course.

Student teams are working to find ways to improve the efficiencies of local food supply chains. Projects include identification of optimal inventory management systems for grower-based distributors; a business-case comparison of food hub to retail grocery store delivery via different supply chain routes; and evaluation of the feasibility of consolidation centers to solve small-farm produce aggregation problems.

For more information about the Research Symposium, please contact NCGT Research Coordinator Rebecca Dunning.

NCGT Partner Profile: Carolina Farm Stewardship Association

NC Growing Together partner Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA), in partnership with NC State University, has developed a manual designed to help growers develop a food safety plan and pass a Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) audit. Good Agricultural Practices for Small Diversified Farms - Tips and Strategies to Reduce Risk and Pass an Audit can be found on CFSA's website.

CFSA also continues to provide training and financial support to growers on issues of food safety and GAP certification. Their support includes workshops, one-on-one training, and cost-share assistance in the GAP certification process.

Learn more about CFSA at http://www.carolinafarmstewards.org

NC Growing Together works in partnership with dozens of organizations and agencies across the state. Periodically we will profile one of our partners and the work that we are doing together to bring more locally-produced food from small and mid-sized farms to retail and food service markets in North Carolina. For a complete list of partners, visit the NC Growing Together website.

Third Annual NC Catch Summit Scheduled for February 6 & 7

NC Growing Together partner NC Catch, a non-profit organization that supports and promotes markets for North Carolina-caught seafood, will be holding its third annual Summit on February 6-7 in Southport, NC. The theme is "Moving Seafood to Inland Markets."

The agenda features interactive presentations on marketing wild Alaska seafood, trends in seafood availability and consumer demand, seafood marketing, and grocery supply chains. Keynote speaker Greg Fisk of Juneau, Alaska will discuss successful Alaskan branded marketing programs. Fisk is the owner of SeaFisk Consulting and Management, and has worked for fishing organizations in Alaska and Canada and as a fisheries specialist with the Alaska Department of Commerce.

In addition to Fisk, panelists include representatives from Hot Wilmington, Sakisaki Marketing, Lowes Foods, Lamar Advertising, NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and NC Sea Grant. Educational programming for the NC Catch Summit is supported by North Carolina Growing Together.

The Summit is open to the general public. For more information, or to register, visit the NC Catch website or call Lisa Humphrey at 910-962-2490 or Scott Baker at 910-962-2492.

Project Contact Information

Rebecca Dunning, NCGT Project and Research Coordinator, rebecca_dunning@ncsu.edu, 919-389-2220

Nancy Creamer, Co-Director of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, NC State University; and Project Director, NC Growing Together, nancy_creamer@ncsu.edu, 919-515-9447

John O'Sullivan, Co-Director of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, NC A&T State University; and Co-Principal Investigator, NC Growing Together, johno@ncat.edu , 336-285-4683

Michelle Schroeder-Moreno, NCGT Academic Coordinator, michelle_schroeder@ncsu.edu, 919-513-0085

Joanna Lelekacs, NCGT Extension and Training Coordinator, joanna_lelekacs@ncsu.edu, 919-244-5269

John Day, NCGT Military Partnership Coordinator, john_day@ncsu.edu, 704-785-6670

Ariel Fugate, Locally Grown Accounts Representative, Lowes Foods; and Lowes Foods Liaison, NC Growing Together, ariel.fugate@lowesfoods.com, 859-552-3467

JJ Richardson, NCGT Website and Communications Coordinator, jj_richardson@ncsu.edu, 919-527-9891

NC Growing Together is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, grant #2012-68004-20363.

� 2013 NC Growing Together