| 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.
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Greetings all,
Thanks for reading our monthly newsletter and please let us know what you think!
Sincerely,
The NCGT Management Team
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NCGT Summer Apprentices Ready to Hit the Ground Running!
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Apprentices (l-r): Eva, Josie, Tracy, Shirlee, Gigi, Kristen. Missing: Erin Lowe.
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The NC Growing Together Summer 2015 Local Food Supply Chain Apprentices are on the ground and ready to get started on their 8-week assignments! Meet them below:
 Josie Walker is from Graham, NC and is currently an Agricultural and Environmental Systems student at North Carolina A&T University. She will be working with Feast Down East.
 Virginia (Gigi) Lytton is from Charlotte, NC and is currently a Global Studies and Medical Anthropology student at the University of North Carolina. She will be working with Lowes Foods.
 Eva Moss currently lives in Tennessee but has triple citizenship in New Zealand, Western Samoa, and the United States. Evan is currently an Anthropology student at Sewanee. She will be working with Firsthand Foods.
 Kristen Miller is from Mooresboro, NC and is currently a Poultry Science student at NC State University. She will be working with NC Choices.
 Erin Lowe is from Austin, Texas and is currently a Farm Intern at World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms in Oregon. Erin graduated from Swarthmore College with a degree in Environmental Studies and Biology with a minor in Psychology. She will be working with Tractor.
 Tracy Grubb is from Saxapahaw, NC and is currently a Plant and Soil Sciences student at NC State University. She will be working with the NC 10% Campaign.
 Shirlee Evans is from Fayetteville, NC and is an Agribusiness major at NC State University. She will be working with Cumberland County Cooperative Extension.
This is the inaugural year of the NCGT Summer Apprenticeship. In January of 2016 we will invite applications from partner organizations that would like to mentor an apprentice for the summer of 2016.
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NC State Graduate Student to Present Work on the Local Multiplier Effect
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Over the past four years, NC State Horticulture Science PhD student Drew Marticorena has been studying the "Local Multiplier Effect", the economic ripple effect that occurs within a community when consumers spend their money at independent, locally-owned businesses. While there are databases that contain standard multipliers used by economic developers across that nation, there are strong reasons to believe they are not accurate for the "local food" economy.
NC Growing Together works with small and mid-scale agricultural businesses, linking them together and into larger supply chains. One benefit of having independent, small and mid-scale businesses in a community is that revenue from consumer purchases recirculates in the area, supporting local wealth and jobs. Drew has been researching whether farms and agriculture-related businesses that buy their inputs and sell their products locally create a larger multiplier effect than those businesses that do not.
Drew will present his results at an upcoming seminar on June 18 from 1-2 pm in Kilgore Hall, room 121, on the NC State campus. This part of Drew's research has been partially funded by the NCGT project. All are invited to attend!
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NCGT Releases Farmstead Creamery Survey
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NC Growing Together has released a baseline survey on North Carolina's growing farmstead creamery industry. A "farmstead" creamery, by definition, is one that manufactures on-farm, value-added dairy products made exclusively with milk from that farm. The survey summarizes data on 13 goat creameries and 10 cow creameries, which constitute an estimated 60% of the farmstead creameries in the state. The survey will be repeated in 2017 to track changes and growth in the expanding sector.
Consumer demand for "local food" - food produced close to the point of sale and having additional attributes such as "natural," "healthy," "sustainably raised," and "from family farms" - continues to grow. In the case of local dairy products in North Carolina, this demand is reflected in the growth in the number of farms seeking to become dairy manufacturers registered and regulated by the Food and Drug Protection Division at the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS), and by the creation of two NC farmstead and artisan cheese associations.
"In this first survey we focused on 'Farmstead Creameries', defined as producers of milk, cheese and other dairy products from the farm's own herd. In a follow-up study we intend to include artisan producers as well. Artisan dairy products are created in small batches and using traditional methods, like farmstead products, but some or all of the milk is sourced from off-the farm," explains NCGT Project Director Rebecca Dunning.
You can find the report on the Research page of the NC Growing Together website.
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| Upcoming Event: GAPs Workshop in Wake County, June 16 | | |
Navigating the USDA GAP Audit
June 16, 2015 - 9 am to 4 pm
NC Growing Together is partnering with Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, North Carolina State University, and North Carolina Cooperative Extension to deliver workshops across the state with the aim of providing farmers with the tools to reduce food safety risks and meet market requirements.
The Navigating the USDA GAP Audit workshop will combine classroom and on-farm instruction to provide producers with the tools needed to identify potential food safety concerns, as well as strategies to minimize potential contamination. Available resources, including cost-�share assistance (available through 7/31/15) and consulting services, will be provided to growers to assist with the implementation of an effective on-�farm food safety program.
Participants will receive a Certificate of Attendance to fulfill training requirements for USDA GAP/GHP certification.
For more information, and to register, please visit the CFSA website. |
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Project Contact Information
Rebecca Dunning, NCGT Project and Research Coordinator, [email protected], 919-389-2220
Nancy Creamer, Director of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, NC State University; and Project Director, NC Growing Together, [email protected], 919-515-9447
Michelle Schroeder-Moreno, NCGT Academic Coordinator, [email protected], 919-513-0085
Joanna Lelekacs, NCGT Extension and Training Coordinator, [email protected], 919-244-5269
Krista Morgan, Locally Grown Accounts Representative, Lowes Foods; and Lowes Foods Liaison, NC Growing Together, [email protected], 336-775-3218 ext. 53218
Patricia Tripp, NCGT Produce Supply Chain Development Liaison, [email protected], 336-458-6980
JJ Richardson, NCGT Website and Communications Coordinator, [email protected], 919-889-8219
This project is supported by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive grant no. 2013-68004-20363 of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
� 2013-2015 NC Growing Together
www.ncgrowingtogether.org
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