Our approach to hunger is what makes us unique as an organization. From the beginning, we’ve been committed to addressing both sides of the problem – small farmers struggling to stay in business, and disadvantaged populations who lack access to fresh and nutritious food. We like to say “We help from the Seeding to Feeding”.
Each of our programs is designed to benefit those on both sides. You can help get local food to those who need it, while also supporting the farmers producing it.
What do you do when there is plenty of food and lots of hungry people? You share!
That’s what Donation Stations are all about. Volunteers encourage shoppers to donate funds that are then spent with the farmers at market, helping them earn a healthy living. All that food, plus any donated by farmers at the end of market, is then shared that day with a local agency serving neighbors in need.
Donation Stations are located at farmers markets throughout North Carolina. In 2019, we donated over 93,000 pounds of fresh, local food to over 50 Donation Station partners!
Everyone deserves fresh, healthy food. The Farmer Foodshare Wholesale Market is another way to connect people who grow food to people who need it. Farmer Foodshare works with over 50 farms exclusively from North Carolina and helps to consolidate produce to be able to sell wholesale directly to our partners. This opens up new revenue opportunities to small farms that may not be able to sell directly to large institutions.
The Wholesale Market operates year-round, connecting all sorts of organizations — schools and universities, restaurants and corporate cafeterias, community organizations and local institutions — to produce from small and mid-scale North Carolina farmers. In 2020, the Wholesale Market generated $1,510,000 in revenue for local growers.
Our goal? To help hard-working farm families (especially beginning farmers, female farmers, and farmers of color) make a decent living, while making fresh, nutritious food available to all.
Curious about what’s in season? Want to order or sell through the Wholesale Market?
Creating access to fresh food is important, but building enthusiasm for it is equally crucial in influencing long-term healthy eating behavior.
That’s why volunteers in our Food Ambassadors program visit local school cafeterias that our Wholesale Market supplies with produce. The kids sample and learn about new foods, then vote on their impressions. In 2018, we conducted 38 taste tests at 18 elementary schools and 2 pre-K’s through Food Ambassadors. All told, more than 8,000 students participated! This year we plan to roll out a new virtual opportunity that will include virtual field trips to farms and more.
Kids trying new things…public schools purchasing more food from local farmers…it all strengthens the local food system. Everybody wins!
Community Foodshare is a learning community of local organizations working collaboratively with Farmer Foodshare to deliver fresh food from North Carolina farmers directly to community members.
The collective-buying strategies that partner organizations develop vary depending on the needs and desires of the communities they serve. Each is designed with input from the community to create sustainable food access and learning opportunities for food insecure families. In 2018, those efforts created access to fresh food for more than 1,000 low-income individuals.
You can support this program through a direct donation to our Foodshare Fund or supporting our farmers through our Farmer Fund.
Our Curbside Market allows individuals and small retailers to purchase fresh food every other week directly from our Food Hub. Each week we will feature product availability at great prices. Everyone from Joe who lives around the block to food trucks will be our customers. Volunteers will help us provide amazing locally sourced to our patrons throughout each day the market is open.
If you’re interested in volunteering, learn more and sign up for a shift below.
To reserve your $20 food box on Fridays contact Erica at erica@farmerfoodshare.org
During Covid-19 we evolved our program to include food boxes to individuals and partner organizations to help supply nutritious produce to those facing food insecurities. We now assemble hundreds of boxes a week full of a variety of produce options to help in these efforts. Volunteers are vital to making this program a success.
If you’re interested in volunteering, learn more and sign up for a shift below.
The Farmer Friday campaign is our year-round effort to spotlight North Carolina Based farmers, local farmers markets and encourage restaurants and retailer to source their produce locally. You can support our efforts by simply wearing green shirts every Friday and encouraging others to do the same. Go Green with us and follow this link for more information.
To reserve your $20 food box on Fridays contact Erica at erica@farmerfoodshare.org
