Farm to Fork

Welcome to Reverend Sara Morgan's stand at the Health Department Market! The Department wants to make it easy for everyone to get their fruits and vegetables. This is in Wayne County, in eastern North Carolina. It's the site of a community that is working to build a sound food system for its people.

The Wayne Food Initiative (WFI) has developed an ambitious program. They envision healthy, knowledgeable and engaged citizens, with nutritious and affordable food accessible to all. The natural world will be protected by sound environmental practices; local farming and businesses, strong. The young people will learn and grow to become the future leaders.

The seed grant for this project was provided by the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS). It's a partnership of NC State University, NC A&T University, and the NC Department of Agriculture. They work closely with various agencies, organizations, and citizens like those in Wayne Couny. Now CEFS is looking at the whole state and asking: "What will it take to build a sustainable local food economy in North Carolina?"

Tell them what you think! Come to a regional meeting and help out. If you are involved in any aspect of the food industry or would like to be, bring your information and ideas to this working session. Meetings have been held in Raleigh, Burgaw, and Asheville. This month's schedule includes the regions around Charlotte, Winston-Salem and Greenville. You can get more information about the regional meetings and about this initiative at Farm to Fork. Choose one of the many ways to get involved in "Building a Sustainable, Local Food Economy."

Here is the meeting schedule:

Charlotte area - Monday, Dec. 8th, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Cabarrus Arena and Event Center, 4751 Highway 49 North, Concord.

Winston-Salem/Greensboro/Highpoint - Wednesday, Dec. 10th, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. SciWorks, 400 W Hanes Mill Rd, Winston Salem, (336) 767-6734. Directions at SciWorks.

Greenville - Monday, Dec. 15, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. St. Timothy’s, 107 Louis St., Greenville, (252) 355-2125.