FarmsSHARE is an alternative food distribution model tackling food insecurity in the Carolinas while providing farmers, food entrepreneurs, and food hubs with resources, knowledge, and support to access high-value markets for locally-sourced, sustainably-produced foods.
Initially launched as an emergency food assistance program in 2020, CFSA developed a network of participating food hubs, farms, and farmer cooperatives to aggregate in-season, locally produced foods, packed into CSA-style food boxes.
Today, FarmsSHARE provides a free box of locally-grown produce and protein sourced from small, sustainable North Carolina farms to households in need.
Who is part of it?
FarmsSHARE currently works with 16 food hub partners to aggregate in-season, locally produced foods from approximately 280 North Carolina farms. The food hubs work with community partner organizations to distribute the food boxes (some hubs distribute directly) to people experiencing food insecurity.
There are approximately 150 community organizations delivering FarmsSHARE boxes to 75 counties across North Carolina.
How does the program work?
- CFSA receives public and private funding for FarmsSHARE.
- CFSA distributes the funding to food hubs across North Carolina.
- Food hub partners purchase food from local farmers, prioritizing Black, Indigenous, and other farmers of color.
- Food hubs pack boxes for community partner organizations.
- Community partner organizations pick up boxes.
- FarmsSHARE boxes are distributed to households in need.
What’s the history of FarmsSHARE?
In 2020, CFSA obtained key funding to launch the project in 2020 from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation (Blue Cross NC Foundation).
At the onset of the pandemic, restaurants and food service companies that buy from local farmers suspended service and laid off thousands of workers. As a result, many small farms lost income from restaurant sales that helped keep their farms viable.
To connect farms and hospitality workers, and to ensure everyone along the supply chain got paid fairly, CFSA developed a network of participating food hubs (six were BIPOC operated), farms (30 of which were BIPOC operated), and farmer cooperatives to aggregate in-season, locally-produced foods to distribute over 20,000 boxes to laid-off restaurant and hospitality employees.
CFSA partnered with Piedmont Culinary Guild and regional food hubs to enroll food service workers in the program. Once enrolled, laid-off workers were able to pick up a share from their former employers once a week for eight weeks. Recipients also had the option to receive farm-fresh proteins, such as eggs and meat.
CFSA received additional financial support for the FarmsSHARE pilot program from Whole Foods, Cardinal Healthcare, Duke University’s Office Durham and Community Affairs, Carolina Farm Credit and Xylem Watermark, Xylem’s Corporate Social Responsibility Program as well as many individual supporters.
Frequently asked questions about FarmsSHARE
See which participating food hubs are near you and get in touch with them directly.
Let us know! We have a set number of food hubs that we can work with at once, so while we cannot make any guarantees, we’re always happy to hear from you.
See our network map (above) and get in direct contact with the organizations closest to you.
Absolutely! Anyone is welcome to make a donation at anytime. If you prefer to talk over your options, let us know, and our Development Team is happy to get in touch.