Laserfiche WebLink
opportunity. They are interested in complying with the policy, <br />but need information about where to buy local products and <br />what to buy. <br />1. Connect County department heads with restaurants and <br />other food businesses that buy locally- sourced ingredients. <br />2. Educate them about ways to substitute locally- sourced <br />products for commonly -used processed food, as well as ways to <br />include locally- raised meat options. <br />3. Explore models for producer cooperatives that will allow <br />farmers to pool resources so they can address education and <br />processing needs and food safety requirements with the goal <br />of being better able to meet institutions' supply needs. <br />Examples include Eastern Carolina Organics, LLC (ECO) a <br />farmer and staff owned business that markets and distributes <br />organic produce to retailers and restaurants across North <br />Carolina, www .easterncarolinaorganics.com. Hickory Nut Gap <br />Meats, a producer network and branded -meat company that <br />serves restaurants and grocery stores, is another, <br />www.hickorynutgapmeats.com. <br />32 CENTER for ENVIRONMENTAL FARMING SYSTEMS <br />r <br />r 10 <br />1; 1 "&1 <br />■ ad <br />s <br />MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION <br />D. Retail Market Channel: Grocery Stores <br />Food retail can take a number of forms, including convenience <br />stores, specialty food stores, grocery stores and supercenters, <br />or club stores. Consumers across the country buy almost 60 <br />percent of the food they consume at home from grocery stores." <br />Cabarrus County has 29 grocery stores .61 This section <br />includes key points from telephone and in- person interviews <br />with representatives from some of those stores, a group that <br />includes small store owners and staff from larger chain stores. <br />Questions were designed to establish demand and to identify <br />opportunities and challenges associated with selling locally - <br />produced food through this market channel. <br />Many grocery stores were difficult to contact. Repeated <br />efforts were made to identify and communicate with both staff <br />and buyers at Fresh Market and Food Lion, but these efforts <br />were unsuccessful. Information from company web sites was <br />included to fill in some of the information gaps relating to <br />larger grocery chains. <br />is <br />Attachment number 1 <br />Page 646 <br />