Local Food Marketing
Connecting Producers with Consumers: Helping the farm find the table!
Working Group Goal
We’re helping connect North Carolinian producers to local markets and consumers.
Contact coordinator, Ali Stone (alstone3@ncsu.edu) to get involved.
North Carolina is a leader among states in cultivating local food. Our state’s foodways reflect our cultural and environmental heritage — from ingredients like creasy greens and ramps in the mountains to soft-shelled crab and hush puppies on the coast. North Carolina’s food specialties have become standard in farm-to-table restaurants across the state.
There are many ways to connect to the local food supply, be it via farmer’s markets, local food stores, or direct sales off the farm. Our goal is to help local food producers reach more consumers through marketing initiatives in order to build a stronger local food economy. North Carolina has one of the greatest bounties of local foods available anywhere, thanks to our state’s farms and fishermen. Join us in furthering NC’s local food economy.
NC Producers Marketing Needs Survey
If you are a small to mid-size North Carolinian farmer or seafood producer we want to hear from you! We are currently trying to identify what marketing and communication resources NC farmers and seafood producers need to improve market access, so that we can address those needs by developing necessary resources. Marketing resources can be documents, programs, digital templates, and more. Marketing resources help connect producers with consumers. They survey will be open through May 2025.
Producer Resources
Local Producers’
Social Media Toolkit
Roughly 70% of people in United States use some form of social media, making it a crucial tool for local businesses to reach hundreds, even thousands, of potential customers with relatively little financial investment. However, many farmers and fishers have trouble utilizing social media to its full marketing potential due to long working hours and potentially limited internet, in addition to the fact that social media for businesses is different from that of personal use.
In light of these challenges, the North Carolina Local Food Council (NCLFC) have created this social media toolkit, which will serve as a brief guide and resource hub to empower producers to connect with markets through social media. Click below to start building your following today!
Social Media Posts for Your Use
These posts have been developed using content from the Local Food Marketing Work Group’s product promotions. Each post can be edited, downloaded, and shared on social media and newsletters to meet your personal needs and style.
How to Use
1. Click on the post you want to use provided on this page
2. Select “Use template for new design”, this will create a copy of the template you can edit to your liking.
3. To edit any elements of the template, like text, simply click on the element, and Canva will automatically allow you edit it. You can add your farm address, or other personalized information to the template.
4. Using the bar on the left side of the screen, you can add more text boxes, add elements like pictures or other shapes to your liking.
5. To save your personalized post, click share at the top right corner of the screen, and click download. You can download as a JPG or PNG, there are other options, but these are best for social media posts.
Fill out this asset form to have your farm added to the Visit NC Farms App.
Add an event to the Visit NC Farms App here.
Contact admin@visitncfarmstoday.com or visit the partners page.
Get your farm on the Visit NC Farms App
The N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services launched the Visit NC Farms app in 2018 as a pilot program. With the help of the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission and North Carolina Sea Grant, the initiative is expanding statewide to connect millions of residents and visitors with local farms & fisheries, local food & drink, farmers markets & u-pick, value-added through local shops, farm stays & lodging, tours & trails and special agricultural events across the state to include your county/region
Other Helpful resources
The Farmwise Hub (Financial Agriculture Resources for Maximizing Wealth, Income Stability, and the Environment) supports underserved farmers in gaining access to financial knowledge and overcoming barriers to USDA programs.
NC Extension’s Local Food Marketing provides a useful aggregation of resources for farmers.
Consumer Resources
Assisting Expansion:
NCDA’s Visit NC Farms App
Download the app to find local farms near you!
Check out this map to see if your county can be found on the app!
Learn more about the Visit NC Farms app in this webinar from the Carteret Local Food Network.
“People want experiences on farms. This app will increase potential customers down the revenue streams for farmers.”
- Annie Bagget
Agritourism Marketing Specialist, NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Find Local Foods
“The crack of peanut shells at the ballpark. The smell of summer peaches churned into fresh ice cream. The sights, sounds, and smells of local products are part of life in North Carolina.”
- Got to be NC
NC Ag Promotions
NC Local Food Promotions
What is the purpose of our local food promotions? To provide content on local produce that farmers and farmers markets can reuse for their communications with customers. Download our templates for your newsletters or social media posts.
What is missing from our promotions?
2019 NC Food Champions Project
In 2019, we initiated a Local Food Champions storytelling project, where we featured leaders in NC’s local food system. We hope these stories can inspire producers and farmers in sharing their own story and connecting with their customers and community.
David Allen | Michael Banner | Reverand Richard Joyner | Jason Kampwerth | V Mac Baldwin | Ricky Moore | Leigh Guth | Brendon Green | Jaylen Cates
Working Groups
Local Food Marketing | Food Recovery | Community Health | Local Food Infrastructure