Since launching in 2020, the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association’s FarmsSHARE program has built a statewide alternative food distribution network grounded in partnerships, strategically investing in local food and agriculture to support North Carolina’s rural economies, small farms, and communities.
With over 1.7 million pounds of fresh, locally-grown food purchased at fair market prices from 300+ farmers across the state and distributed to thousands of food-insecure households, FarmsSHARE offers a proven model for how state and private support can drive public health, economic development, and community resilience.
At the heart of the program are 18 food hubs, deeply rooted in the communities they serve. These food hubs purchase food from local farmers at fair market prices, then work with trusted community organizations to distribute free, high-quality, culturally relevant food boxes to households experiencing food insecurity. The result is a local food system that supports farmers, strengthens local food infrastructure, and ensures that fresh, healthy food reaches those who need it most.
Through the FarmsSHARE program, we’ve had the privilege of growing our relationships with our partnering food hubs across the state. As we celebrate and reflect on five years of impact, we’re shining a light on food hubs as vital anchor points both to the FarmsSHARE program and to North Carolina’s regional food system at large, from the mountains to the coast.
FarmsSHARE Coordinator Lenwood Edwards and FarmsSHARE Faith Community Organizer Emily Ling recently chatted with four food hubs in Eastern North Carolina about the impact of FarmsSHARE in their communities, and their vision for the future.
Men and Women United for Youth and Families, Delco
Feast Down East, Burgaw
Conetoe Family Life Center, Conetoe
Working Landscapes, Warrenton
Men and Women United for Youth and Families (MWUYF)
Serving Brunswick, New Haven, Bladen, and New Hanover counties, MWUYF has become a central force in strengthening local food systems and creating economic stability in rural communities. Under the leadership of Executive Director Randolph Keaton and Food Hub Manager extraordinaire Kimberly Howell, MWUYF has been able to deepen ties with local farmers because of FarmsSHARE, providing those farmers with a consistent market even when funding streams were in flux over the last year.
“FarmsSHARE has strengthened MWUYF by boosting local relationships within the community and the local food system, and it has increased local access to food for those in need,” says Executive Director Randolph Keaton. And due to FarmsSHARE being “a fair program” that was “well planned and thought out,” Kimberly Howell adds, they’ve been able to serve a wide range of community food preferences.
MWUYF’s integration of multiple programs, including FarmsSHARE, Vacation Vittles, and Food as Medicine partnerships with Nourish Rx and the Healthy Opportunities Pilot, reflects the holistic value that comes from investing in community-based, community-led food hubs. Their recent addition of a new building and expanding U-Pick opportunities show how programs like FarmsSHARE can act as a catalyst for long-term infrastructure growth.
Feast Down East (FDE)
Just north of Wilmington, Feast Down East (FDE) partners with over 100 farms throughout the state, operating not just as a distribution center, but as a public health ally and local economic engine. In 2024, their participation in FarmsSHARE contributed nearly one-third of the hub’s total sales, underscoring how vital program stability is for food hub and farm viability.
FDE’s Food Hub Operations Manager, JT Crawford, and Food Hub Programs Coordinator, Casey Strout, noted that compared to other programs, FarmsSHARE prioritizes culturally relevant foods that are local, fresh, and keep money within the community – a common thread among the food hubs we spoke to! It’s a win from every angle, JT says, and the model promotes public health.
FDE delivers food through restaurants, mobile markets, Food is Medicine initiatives, and community partner organizations like Pender County Christian Services, which shared that participants self-reported improved A1c levels, noting:
“Because of [FarmsSHARE], we were able to serve at least 10% more families with fresh vegetables and fruits through our Food Pantry. This was a great help. Our clients really appreciated the variety of fresh food they received through this program.“
The organization recently leveraged its FarmsSHARE success to secure private funding for an in-house version of the program, proof of concept that FarmsSHARE works and attracts additional investment when supported.
Conetoe Family Life Center
Conetoe Family Life Center is rooted in Edgecombe County and serves nearly 70 community organizations in nine Northeastern coastal counties. If you live in North Carolina and are passionate about local food access programs addressing food insecurity, you have more than likely crossed paths with Conetoe Family Life Center Director Reverend Richard Joyner. With long-term skin in the game for food equality, serving the community through investing in local food infrastructure is nothing new to Rev. Joyner and his team.
Conetoe’s FarmsSHARE partnership supports over two-thirds of their organization’s operations, including an on-site farm, a Food is Medicine program with East Carolina University Health, and a youth agribusiness apprenticeship program with NC A&T State University.
Much of Conetoe’s impact is achieved through its innovative and practical approach to supporting community health and wellbeing, such as delivering food boxes to senior citizens, barber shops, and beauty salons ahead of the weekend when folks will be cooking family meals.
“FarmsSHARE is not charity, it’s investment,” says Reverend Joyner. “It brings people together and builds capacity in our communities.” By anchoring food access work in sustainability and determination, Conetoe demonstrates how funding local food systems creates ripple effects across healthcare, education, agriculture, and faith-based networks.
Working Landscapes
In rural Warren County, Working Landscapes has partnered with FarmsSHARE since the program’s inception in 2020 to support small-scale farmers, address infrastructure gaps, and improve regional food access.
In a rural region with few retail markets and limited transportation options for small-scale farmers, food hubs are a particularly critical cornerstone of the local food system. By providing a reliable, personalized market channel for farmers to sell their product through the FarmsSHARE program, Working Landscapes is an invaluable asset to the food and farming landscape in Warrenton and beyond. When speaking with Maeve Broyles, Food Hub Manager, and Jenni Rogan, Director of Operations, each echoed that the FarmsSHARE model is helping farmers scale their operations sustainably, plan long-term, and support local food access and food security efforts in the process. “Local food is the best way to go,” notes Maeve Broyles. “The benefits go far beyond the recipients of the produce boxes…everyone wins through this model, and it brings the community together around food.” Her favorite interaction so far is with a food box recipient who gets excited over cabbages because they are so large that she has to share them with her neighbor, highlighting the connections that are built amongst community members.
Working Landscapes has also seen firsthand how dedicated investment in local food systems empowers community economic development. FarmsSHARE support has helped enable a new senior nutrition program, an expansive farm-to-school initiative, regenerative farming projects, and market preparedness training classes for new and expanding farmers. FarmsSHARE also enabled Working Landscapes to hire new staff and expand food access operations, showing how targeted investments lead to job creation, farmer support, and youth development in underserved areas. “Agriculture and systems take time,” says Maeve, “so funding for the long-term is very important.”
The Big Picture: Smart Investment, Real Impact
Across the eastern region of North Carolina, the common thread is clear: FarmsSHARE works. Food hubs report that long-term, flexible funding allows farmers to confidently crop plan, invest in their businesses, and reduce the stress that comes with uncertain markets. Community partners report improved health outcomes, stronger relationships, and increased trust in local food systems.
It’s a win-win-win: produce box recipients are “beyond satisfied” with the freshness and quality of the food they receive, participating farmers are represented in – and engaged with – their home communities, and food dollars remain in the local economy. Plus, thanks to the local leadership prioritized in the FarmsSHARE model, food hubs have been able to tailor their partnerships and distribution strategies to best fit the needs of the counties they serve, ensuring that both community partners and food box recipients reflect the local population. FarmsSHARE is an economic strategy that keeps dollars local, invests in agricultural resilience, and advances food equity with dignity and care.
A Call to Action
Across the coastal plain, FarmsSHARE is powering food security, local-level agriculture, and circular economies thanks to the dedicated partnership of food hubs like Men and Women United for Youth and Families, Feast Down East, Conetoe Family Life Center, and Working Landscapes. Their work, and the positive impacts they’ve seen in their communities through FarmsSHARE and other food distribution programs, serve as a case study in the power of investing in local food systems. When we support farmers and prioritize healthy food access, we’re growing a stronger North Carolina from the ground up.
For policymakers, philanthropists, and funders, the message is simple: investing in FarmsSHARE is investing in North Carolina’s future. These food hubs are not just distributing produce, they are building infrastructure, training future farmers, and contributing to community health and wellbeing in measurable ways in some of the state’s most vulnerable communities.
The time to scale this work is now. The blueprint exists. The leadership is in place. And the results speak for themselves.
We’re thankful to our food hub partners who are working to change food access conversations to prioritizing healthy food for all.
Lenwood Edwards, FarmsSHARE Coordinator
Emily Ling, FarmsSHARE Faith Community Organizer
