Wednesday, March 16, 2011

In collaboration with the University of North Carolina Wilmington and the Town of Burgaw Depot Authority, Feast DownEast will celebrate the opening of its Southeastern North Carolina (SENC) FOODS Processing and Distribution Center 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, March 22 at the Historic Train Depot in Burgaw.

For the first time in Southeastern North Carolina, a food distribution center will help small local farmers remain marketable in a global economy. Funded by the GoldenLEAF Foundation and the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, the center is designed to encourage and support the local food economy, while preserving the area's rural cultural and agricultural heritage.

Community members and food businesses are invited to join the grand opening celebration, which will also mark the launch of the Pender County 10% Campaign, a statewide initiative aimed at keeping $3.5 billion of food dollars in N.C.'s economy, www.nc10percent.com . New Hanover and Brunswick counties celebrated their 10% Campaign launches earlier this week.

As the demand for local fresh food increases, small farmers are challenged to provide the necessary volume of quality produce and delivery options required by area businesses. SENC FOODS, a program of Feast DownEast, plans to pool local farmer products and resources and provide a method of distribution to restaurants, grocers, schools and other institutions in N.C. - making fresh local food more readily available to the region and "bridging the gap" between farmers and consumers.

"We see this partnership as win-win and a great opportunity to help support our mission of building a viable food industry in Pender County," said Martin Beach, chairman of the Depot Authority.

Feast DownEast, also known as the Southeastern North Carolina Food Systems Program (SENCFS), is dedicated to helping small farmers connect with local markets, with the goal of building and sustaining farm businesses and the local food economy.

"Many of our small farmers lack the capacity, resources and means to adequately supply our regional food economy. SENC FOODS will serve to facilitate the process of providing local fresh foods to our communities," stated Leslie Hossfeld, co-founder of Feast DownEast and director of the UNC Wilmington public sociology program.

SENC FOODS is a farmers' cooperative committed to helping small and limited-resource farmers gain access to local food markets by providing education, marketing, aggregation and distribution of fresh produce; flash-freezing and storage of some of the produce at its peak to extend its seasonal availability; and opportunities and training for farmers to transform their own produce into shelf stable products.

"Area farmers are both excited about this opportunity and ready to begin working together. The potential impact of SENC FOODS is very significant for many of our farmers," said Renee Eli, director of processing and distribution for SENC FOODS.

UNCW is the lead agent for Feast DownEast (www.feastdowneast.org ), established in early 2007 with the goal of uniting public and private agencies to create a local and regional food system that supports local farmers, increases the sales of local farm products, educates the public about the importance of "buying local" and sustains and expands farm employment, profit and ownership.

The community and food businesses are encouraged to RSVP for the March 22 grand opening with Susan Holman at 910.520.4782 or jholman@ec.rr.com . Media should RSVP with contact below.

Media Contacts:

Joy Davis, UNCW Marketing and Communications, 910.632.3903 or davisjc@uncw.edu

Jane Steigerwald, Feast DownEast, 910.383.1916 or steigerwaldj@uncw.edu