Committee Goal
We’re helping connect North Carolinians to locally grown and sourced food.
North Carolina is a leader among states in cultivating local food. Our state’s food ways reflect our cultural and environmental heritage — from ingredients like creasy greens and ramps in the mountains to soft-shelled crab and hush puppies on the coast. North Carolina’s food specialties have become standard in farm-to-table restaurants across the state.
There are many ways to connect to the local food supply, be it via farmer’s markets, local food stores, or direct sales off the farm. Our goal is to help local food producers reach more consumers like you through marketing initiatives in order to build a stronger local food economy. North Carolina has one of the greatest bounties of local foods available anywhere, thanks to our state’s farms and fishermen. As we seek to focus on the familiar and create memories for our children, invite a North Carolina farmer or fisherman to dinner by sharing a family meal made with locally sourced ingredients.
Committee Resources
Assisting Expansion:
NCDA’s Visit NC Farms App
- Download the app to find local farms near you!
- Check out this map to see if your county can be found on the app!
- Learn more about the Visit NC Farms app in this webinar from the Cartaret Local Food Network.
Find Local Foods
- Cooking at home? Read this article from NC Sea Grant to learn how to incorporate local foods into your meals.
- Learn what’s in season from the NC 10% Campaign.
- Find local meats using MeatSuite.
- Use Got to be NC Find Local to find local products.
Celebrate with Oysters
- Celebrate the holidays with oysters this year and get connected to NC oyster growers, sellers, markets, and producers.
- Learn more about North Carolina Oysters here!
Where Do Americans’
Food Dollars Go?
- How much of our money goes to the farm? Where else does it go?
- Read this article by Patrick Canning of the USDA to learn where your food dollars go.
“People want experiences on farms. This app will increase potential customers down the revenue streams for farmers.”
“The crack of peanut shells at the ballpark. The smell of summer peaches churned into fresh ice cream. The sights, sounds and smells of local products are part of life in North Carolina.”
“In 2017, consumers in the United States spent $1.2 trillion on U.S.-produced food. Nearly all food starts out on a farm, but did you ever wonder how the value added from processing, packaging, transporting, and marketing agricultural food products factors into the costs?“
Committee Members
Feature photo by Mark Stebnicki from Pexels