This page contains information of interest to farmers selling into retail markets, retailers and other buyers sourcing locally produced food, and service-providers providing technical assistance to both producers and buyers.

1. 1. For Both Producers and Retailers/Buyers
   2. For Retailers/Buyers
   3. For Producers
   4. For Communities
   5. For Service-Providers

For Both Producers and Retailers/Buyers

• NC Growing Together Project (NCGT) – NCGT is a multi-partner project led by the Center for Environmental Farming Systems. The goal of the project is to bring more locally-produced foods into mainstream markets, strengthening the economics of small to mid-size farm and fishing operations and their communities. The website provides research and resources for producers as well as retail and food service buyers. Examples of resources developed in partnership with N.C. Cooperative Extension include the following:
• • Selling Fluid Milk into Grocery Stores through Direct Store Delivery
  • How to Sell Shell Eggs into Grocery Stores through Direct Store Delivery
  • How to Sell Pastured Meat Products to Grocery Stores via Direct Store Delivery
  • Tips for Marketing Fresh Produce to Retail Grocers: Using PLU and UPC Codes

• Wholesale Local Food Guide
  A farm to business trade directory for Western North Carolina and the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

For Buyers/Retailers

• Do you have questions about prices for local produce?
  • Putting Local on the Menu: Tools and Strategies for Increasing the Utilization of Locally Raised Food in Restaurants and Food Service
    The SCALE project “undertook a two part effort to first, examine how some food enterprises are making local buying work, and secondly, to develop a tool that more accurately determines the real cost difference when buying local food.”
    • Cost Calculator for College / University dining services
    • Cost Calculator for Restaurants
  • NC Growing Together Resources for Buyers/Retailers
    • Authenticity and Success in Marketing “Local”
    • Retailer Talking Points: How to Answer Consumer Questions on Local Meats
    • Bringing on New Local Niche Meat Producers — A Visual Guide and Checklist
    • Holding Successful “Meet the Farmer” Events — Assessment and Recommendations
    • Bringing on New Fruit and Vegetable Farmers: A Visual Guide and Checklist for Direct-Store-Delivery
  • Standards and Expectations of North Carolina Food Buyers, 2012
    Research publication of the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project.

For Producers

• Grower Information Sessions – NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
  NCDA&CS has been partnering with buyers and county Cooperative Extension offices over the last few years to network farmers with retail grocers and food service distributors. Check the NCDA&CS website for future opportunities, or if you are eligible, become a member of the Got to be NC program to receive periodic updates on NCDA&CS events.
• NC Growing Together Resources for Producers
  • Feast Down East Farmer Standards and Handling Procedures
  • Lowes Foods Locally Grown: A Guide to Retail for Potential Fresh Produce Vendors
  • Foster-Caviness Local Food Manual for Farmers, Growers, & Vendors
  • Niche Meat Production, Voluntary Labeling Claims, and the Approval Process
  • Tips for Marketing Fresh Produce to Retail Grocers: Using PLU and UPC Codes
• Retail Ready for Local Farm Products
  North Carolina Cooperative Extension Program in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
  The Retail Ready for Local Farm Products program addresses the risks faced by North Carolina’s small-scale farmers as they develop new relationships with local restaurant, grocery and wholesale buyers.

For Communities

• Healthy Food Access Portal
  This website provides resources specifically for communities to increase food access by working with retail strategies. A good source of research updates, grant/funding and policy information

FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS

• Scaling-up Connections between Regional Ohio Specialty Crop Producers and Local Markets: Distribution as the Missing Link
  Ohio State University report exploring “the opportunities for scaling up distribution of local fruits and vegetables to retail outlets in Ohio by using conventional distribution methods.”