For Communities
SAIC Program participation
At SAIC, we aim to support local farmers and expand the local farm economy. The following programs are examples of initiatives that SAIC is involved with, whether it be connecting farmers to new markets or providing weekly boxes to community members. These programs play a pivotal role in the local food supply chain and providing fresh produce to the community. Farmers who are interested in selling their produce to these outlets should contact the SAIC manager, Davon Goodwin.
CFSA / Farmsshare
Carolina Farm Stewardship Association is a farmer-driven, membership-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that’s on a mission to advocate, educate, and build connections to create sustainable food systems in the Carolinas centered on local and organic agriculture. Their vision is a sustainable regional food system that is good for all consumers, farmers, farmworkers, and ecosystems. FarmsSHARE is a food assistance program coordinated by CFSA, created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to provide a free weekly box of locally-grown food from small, sustainable farms to restaurant and hospitality workers in five regions across North Carolina. It was implemented by regional farm and food hub partners like SAIC who worked with CFSA to provide weekly food boxes to hospitality workers and members of the community in late 2020 and early 2021.
HPHC
Healthy People, Healthy Carolinas (HPHC) is an initiative by The Duke Endowment launched in 2015. It is a community-based approach to address chronic health issues such as unhealthy weight, diabetes and heart disease through the work of local coalitions initiating evidence-based interventions to improve health. HPHC recognizes that health and well-being are created and sustained not just through individual and clinical efforts, but through the cooperation of the local community. The SAIC provides food boxes for this program twice a month, and delivers the food boxes to the HPHC drop off site for pick-up. The drop off location also includes a health clinic that offers health checks such as cholesterol screenings and COVID tests.
Come to the table
Since 2007, Come to the Table (CTTT) has engaged and mobilized people of faith, farmers, and communities to increase food security, address poverty, and strengthen justice in our food system. In 2020, RAFI-USA, a nonprofit farm advocacy and justice organization, provided mini-grants to 39 rural United Methodist churches throughout North Carolina who have responded to increased hunger in their communities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. These mini-grants, distributed through the CTTT program, provided funding to churches who purchased food from local growers or local restaurants to distribute in their community. Learn more about CTTT here.
Farms2SS
The Farm to Senior Services project will create and connect county-based teams including Extension agents, food councils, farmers, intermediary food businesses (e.g. food hubs or aggregators), and senior meal service institutional buyers. The project aims to improve institutional procurement policy, address procurement challenges of county-based institutions, provide resources and technical assistance for farmers, and support increased availability of local foods for older adults in North Carolina.
Richmond Fresh
The Richmond Fresh program will organize a drop-off or pick up day with your organization based on what is convenient for the Sandhills AgInnovation Center. The boxes will contain 5-8 local food items, including fresh produce and eggs or meat, as those products are available. The boxes will vary week to week due to seasonality and will feature food grown and raised on local farms.