Special to The Randolph Guide
ASHEBORO —
Mary Helen Ferguson with N.C. Cooperative Extension in Randolph County will be extension’s local foods coordinator, supporting the 10% Campaign, an effort to encourage North Carolina consumers to spend 10 percent of their food dollars on foods from local sources.
Through the campaign Web site – www.nc10percent.com – consumers and business will pledge to spend 10 percent of their food dollars locally, buying products from area farmers and food producers. Campaign participants will receive weekly e-mail reminders to report how much money they spent on local food. The Web site will show consumers how their dollars spent on local foods grow.
The Center for Environmental Farming Systems and Cooperative Extension are partners in the campaign.
Cooperative Extension, based at N.C. State and N.C. A&T State universities, serves all the state’s 100 counties and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee. CEFS is a partnership of N.C. State, N.C. A&T State and the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Sciences that provides research, outreach and education on sustainable education and promotes local food economies in North Carolina.
Ferguson will help connect consumers and food producers and support local businesses and organizations who want to spend 10 percent of their food dollars locally. Ferguson will personally contact businesses and organizations that register through the Web site to help them develop a plan for buying local products.
In addition, the 10% Campaign Web site provides a “Find Local Foods” page with links to help consumers find local food and farm products in their own communities.
To find out what’s happening with local foods in Randolph County, visit http://randolph.ces.ncsu.edu. A link to the Local Foods page can be found in the left hand column of the home page.
