Der Holcomb serves as the Family & Consumer Sciences Agent in Alexander County where she educates community members in the areas of food safety, financial management, food and nutrition, and physical exercise. Within these program areas, Der works with a wide range of audiences from early childhood (3-5 year olds) to senior citizens providing a fun and engaging environment to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Der shared that her favorite part of being an FCS agent, “among many other reasons, is that I get to work with so many different people from all walks of life. I get to learn about who they are, and what they like, and best of all, help guide them in making some of their life choices.”
Der’s Local Food Landscape
As one of the smaller counties in the state, Alexander County is unique in that it has a wide variety of production allowing a diverse local food scene. Der shared that apple production brings in a lot of agritourism to the county and one of the local orchards is a big supporter of the Farm to School program. Across the county from the orchards, you’ll find strawberry and vegetable growers selling locally and through wholesale. Travel west in the county and you’ll find a u-pick blueberry operation with over 2,000 blueberry bushes in production and travel east in the county you’ll find greenhouses producing tomatoes and cucumbers. Throughout the county you can also find small ruminants, cattle, dairy, field crops (tobacco, wheat, soybean, corn), and hay producers. Approximately two-thirds of the county is farmland and they rank third in the state for Poultry production, fifth for apples, sixth in dairy products, and tenth in beef cattle, (NCpedia).
Der’s Primary Projects & Programs
Having so much access to and knowledge of the local food options in the county allows Der to source locally for many of her programs and all throughout the season. Some of the programs she can do this with include Med instead of Meds, Teen Cuisine, Farm to ECE, BBQ boot camps, and Farm to Fork.
One of Der’s passions is Farm to ECE work. She was formerly the co-chair of the Farm to ECE workgroup through the Local Food Program Team, and works hard in her county to ensure she can reach a wider impact than just the children. With the help of others in her county she’s hosted teacher training around local food procurements, garden visits, Q&A with the Horticulture Agent, and local food taste testing. Garden and classroom activities for the children focus on literacy and language. Partnering with the Wilkes County FCS agent, a library of virtual field trips was created for centers to utilize since transportation can be a challenge for childcare centers. Last fall, they hosted a pumpkin patch event where parents could bring kids after hours to complete educational stations and pick a pumpkin to take home. These are examples of how they try to connect the Head Start center with local farmers or local products. Based on the success of the event last year, Der hopes this year they can turn it into a community-wide event and host a garden party to invite younger home school children to learn about the food system!
