Local Organic Y'All

05/08/2019

Here’s a little something for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/RIXsHrBbisAgy

Can you answer these tough farmers market questions?

03/16/2019

Had a great time at RAFI’s Come to the Table conference on Thursday. I was especially moved by the presentation of poultry workers from western NC who spoke eloquently about their plight. Their working conditions are truly appalling.

03/16/2019

Check out my new blogpost about wholesale produce distributor FreshPoint. Great things happening there. Lauren Horning is their local coordinator. www.localorganicyall.org/blog

02/13/2019

Enjoyed the 21st annual Orange County Ag Summit this week. Heard about Mecklenburg County’s excellent new foodshed study (they spent $100k to do it). Other highlights: Weaver Street Market staff gave a good talk about their local sourcing, emphasizing that farmers need to talk to retailers months before selling in order to plan correctly. I met enthusiastic staff from NC’s pesticide regulators (working on pollinator protection and pesticide drift). CFSA did a good job introducing more farmers to GAPs so they can potentially sell wholesale. And I learned a lot about h**p, a risky but very profitable new local crop. Finally I was impressed that Orange County is spending $500k on rural broadband and has spent $400k on farmer grants (using funds from a 1/4 cent sales tax). Good stuff.

01/16/2019

Losing another food coop. Food retailing is a tough business.

When Greensboro’s Renaissance Community Co-Op opened in 2016, it was the area’s first since grocery store since 1998. Last week the store, in largely Black and low-income East Greensboro, announced it is closing at the end of the month. Despite demonstrable need in the under-served, low income a...

01/15/2019

Inspiring time at the VA Biological Farmers Association annual meeting last weekend in Richmond. Heard talks by a fire up Joel Salatin and by Leah Penniman from Soul Fire Farm (her new book Farming While Black is excellent). Also good to see produce aggregation happening and fun buses.

01/08/2019

In 2019 Local Organic Y'All hopes to continue to monitor the grocery industry in North Carolina. Quite frankly we like some of the reports we are hearing. Publix recently announced that they would be participating in a Buyer-Grower meet-up. This chain has been lagging in its interest in local organic; this is a hopeful sign that this well-regarded retailer may be moving in a good direction.

Also recently heard from a major wholesaler that some of the bigger grocers are ramping up their requests for local produce. We are planning a visit to this wholesaler in January and will report on what we learn. Stay tuned!

10/04/2016

Fun day at the Pepper Festival talking with folks about local organic food in supermarkets. Talked to well over 150 people and got a lot of support. Yeah!

04/08/2016

Check out our website: www.localorganicyall.org. We've got two supermarket reports there now. Who do you think is the most local friendly of the major grocery store chains?