Laura Lauffer is passionate about serving farmers and food businesses in her role as the Program Director for EmPOWERing Mountain Food Systems (EMFS), a Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) initiative. EMFS serves 12 regional counties in Western NC and the Qualla Boundary of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI).

Whether she is at her home base in the EBCI Extension Office or conducting fieldwork on farms and in classrooms, Laura’s focus remains the same: increasing business opportunities to support the expansion of the food supply chain. By collaborating with Small Business Centers and Cooperative Extension, she supports producers and food businesses as they navigate the complexities of starting small businesses.

Western North Carolina is home to many small scale farmers and a vibrant local food landscape. However, the region faced a “double hit” - first from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene, and shortly after from the reduction in federal funding that supported local food purchasing programs. EMFS has become a cornerstone of the rebuilding effort, working to provide solutions and necessary resources through strategic regional partnerships.

One of the program’s most successful initiatives is the Food Truck Boot Camp (FTBC). In 2022, EBCI Extension Director Chumper Walker began exploring opportunities to support increased local food options in Cherokee. Jess Mrugala, Local Food Systems Regional Area Specialized Agent, learned about the Street Food Institute (SFI), a non-profit organization based in New Mexico providing real-world business experience through classroom training and internships for community members interested in starting their own small food business. With food trucks being less common in the area, Laura, Chumper, and Jess created the Food Truck Boot camp, with the goal of helping food truck dreamers navigate the challenges, requirements, and opportunities of starting and sustaining mobile food enterprises. She shared that after engaging with the fabulous SFI team, “our program took off”!

The structure of the FTBC can vary, but generally spans multiple days, with hands-on training to equip participants with the tools and knowledge needed to launch and grow a successful food truck business. The SFI team attended the first two boot camps, offering technical training through cooking, chopping, and weighing stations to help entrepreneurs master quantity and cost control. Local lenders, such as the Sequoyah Fund and Mountain Biz Works provide lending advice and financial literacy. Direct access to regulatory guidance is essential to safe food truck operations so EBCI Fire & Rescue and Health & Human Services are important partners as well. Engaging with extension staff also played important roles in supporting past events. Laura shared that one of her favorite parts was on the last half day where they offered one-on-one coaching with subject matter experts sharing information related to graphic design, lending, food safety, and menu design.

Success isn’t always about launching a food business; sometimes, it’s about preventing a costly mistake. Laura notes that some participants realize the food truck life isn’t for them, while others pivot their business models to save costs. For The Ten Acre Garden, a popular spot for local food and an abundance of on-farm activities in Haywood County, FTBC was the catalyst for a new pizza food truck venture. Co-owner Mark Davies explained: “The Food Truck Boot Camp allowed us to explore ideas of expanding our sales opportunities on our farm, related to our on-farm agritourism operations. The specifics about building, stocking, and managing a food truck were excellent. Especially the regulatory side of running a food truck was super helpful. I would not have known where to go to find all of this information.”

The FTBC continues to evolve and meet the needs of the community. The first boot camp was held in 2022 over a three-day period and was partially funded through the Appalachian Regional Commission. Registration ranged from $65 for individuals to $115 for businesses with 2-4 attendees. The second was held in the fall of 2025 over a four-day period and was partially funded by EBCI’s Division of Commerce. Registration was $200. The next FTBC will be held in March of 2026 and is being sponsored by the Caldwell Community College Small Business Center. Registration is just $50 but there are less meals and no consultant fees. Laura shared that a big deciding factor for others interested in replicating the event in their community is whether you bring in consultants or run it with local expertise. She suggests keeping costs low by using free meeting space and having attendees cover the meal costs through registration. If other agents are interested in hosting their own FTBC, they can reach out to Laura for more information and support.

Laura sees a bright future for local foods in North Carolina. She envisions a shift toward increased awareness about food ingredients and the need for whole foods, as well as a thriving farmers’ market scene fostering personal connections. Additionally, she suggested a greater emphasis should be placed on institutional procurement and getting more fresh food from local farmers into hospitals, schools, jails and senior centers to both increase the nutritional value of people’s diets while also supporting the local food economy.