Lori Stanistreet drives two hours just to deliver a few cases of fresh-picked produce. Starting at her home in Sanford, she loads up at a farm in the Cumberland County town of Godwin, then continues on to Burgaw, in Pender County. Her destination: Feast Down East, a regional hub of 42 farmers across 14 southeastern counties. Stanistreet doesn’t mind the drive. On nice days, she stops at parks along the way and walks her German shepherd-mix service dog.

“Spending every weekend working at farmers markets is hard when my kids play sports,” says Stanistreet, who took up farming five years ago when Fort Liberty, then called Fort Bragg, offered soldier-to-agriculture training. “Feast Down East lets me be where I want to be.”

The organization is one of eight regional food hubs established across the state to help mostly rural growers succeed. With guidance from the Conservation Fund’s Resourceful Communities program, Feast Down East and its sister organizations formed in 2020 as the NC Food Hub Collaborative. The mission was to build a stronger local food system for consumers statewide.

The collaborative encourages environmental stewardship, and the food hubs provide critical technical assistance to foster connections among some 345 growers and their buyers. Recipients of the food range from households and restaurants to schools, farmers markets, and grocery chains. In 2023, that translated into sales of more than $2.14 million.

Hub members who might have struggled to sell a limited range of products are now featured among a robust array of vegetables and cut flowers, as well as packaged goods like honey, grits, and wellness items. With less waste and fair market rates for producers, this benefits hub members as well as consumers — including people with limited access or means to buy fresh food.

J.T. Crawford spends his days at Feast Down East unloading cases of strawberries and other fresh produce, which eventually make their way across the southeastern part of North Carolina. photograph by Charles Harris

J.T. Crawford is the operations manager of Feast Down East, which receives deliveries from growers like Lori Stanistreet and provides cold storage in a rail boxcar outfitted with a walk-in refrigerator. “The coolest thing,” he says, “is that the exact same products that are going to fancy restaurants also are being given to people who really need them the most.”

Monica McCann agrees. She works as the Resourceful Communities program director at the Conservation Fund. “It’s about building a strong and vibrant economy in our communities,” she says, adding that it’s also about making sure that everyone has access to farm-fresh food.

One hub, Men and Women United for Youth & Families of Delco, exemplifies that goal. Based in Columbus County, it participates in several community access programs, providing fresh, local food to neighbors in need. It also operates a niche direct-sales service, Vacation Vittles, which sells produce bags directly to beach vacationers.

Feast Down East volunteers and staff receive and process deliveries for food distribution at the packing house in Burgaw.  photograph by Charles Harris

Each regional hub deploys a model that works best for its community. High Country Food Hub, based in Boone and run by Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture, operates as an online market with pickups available at several area locations.

Kara Dodson of Full Moon Farm in Deep Gap believes that the food hub model can be a game-changer for its members. In fact, she and her husband earned enough in 2022 to take a farming sabbatical the following year, returning refreshed and eager for the 2024 growing season.

“The food hub was absolutely necessary for us to be a successful business. I know we wouldn’t have made it otherwise,” says Dodson, who is glad to forgo the demands of on-site selling at farmers markets and other venues. “It’s great for people who are committed to buying local.”

The Conservation Fund is currently supporting a few emerging regional food hubs and has funding to add more. “The collaborative will continue to grow,” McCann says. Its ultimate goal: to allow growers and producers to focus on what they do best — nurturing their communities with fresh food and compassion.

To learn more, visit ncfoodhubs.org.