Farmer Foodshare sources fresh food year-round from small and mid-scale North Carolina farms and producers and sells it wholesale to a host of organizations — schools and universities, grocery stores and restaurants, and hunger relief agencies. This creates new revenue opportunities for small farms that otherwise would not grow in sufficient volume to sell directly to large institutions. The organizations benefit too: they can purchase produce from multiple local farms yet deal with just one vendor – a win-win!
We always pay farms for what they grow. In 2020, the Food Hub generated $1,510,000 in revenue for local farms. When necessary, we use Fresh Food Funds from donors to help increase the buying power of community-based organizations whose needs outstrip their budgets.
Want to order or sell wholesale? Contact us at 919-925-2660 or market@farmerfoodshare.org.
Mini-grant Program: Resourcing under-represented farms
Farmer Foodshare aims to increase the number of BIPOC-owned, women-owned, and beginning farms we source produce from. These farms often have difficulty obtaining financing due to lack of credit history, the increased risk associated with lending to an inexperienced farmer, or continued discrimination against people of color. To support these farms in preparing to sell wholesale, we soon will launch a competitive mini-grant program to fund equipment upgrades and technical assistance.
Development of the program, which will launch in 2022 with support from individuals, corporate sponsors, and foundation funding channeled through our Farmer Fund, will be informed by a farmer assessment currently underway. We intend to issue an RFP to farmers twice a year; the scale and number of awards made will depend upon the availability of funds.
Interested in learning more? Contact Terry.