Feast Down East is a nonprofit organization based in Wilmington, North Carolina, offering farmer support, hunger relief programs, and a food hub distribution program. The organization partners with local farmers to purchase food which is distributed to the community via its mobile farmers market, food hub, and Emergency Food Relief Program. Feast Down East’s mission is to “strengthen the farming communities in and around the Wilmington area by providing resources, education, and distribution opportunities to farmers while addressing equitable food access in communities with the greatest need.”

RAFI Market Access Coordinator, Angel Woodrum, spoke with Feast Down East’s Food Hub Operations Manager, JT Crawford, about how farmers can partner with Feast Down East.

Angel Woodrum (AW): Tell me about your work with Feast Down East (FDE) and what FDE does.

JT Crawford (JTC): FDE has two main components, the Food Hub and the Mobile Market.

As the Food Hub manager I work directly with our farmers and customers to coordinate deliveries of local and fresh produce. The Food Hub is also responsible for all farmer engagement, onboarding new farmers and customers, and coordinating deliveries.

Our mobile market goes into underserved communities to bring the same products that fine dining restaurants downtown order at a wholesale cost, while also being able to use SNAP/EBT, which we are able to double. We are also incorporating a whole new route to serve rural communities through BlueCross BlueShield Medicare funding to target rural and elderly populations.

AW: How does FDE engage with farmers?

JTC: FDE engages with farmers by visiting their farms to see where our products are coming from. We provide technical assistance when farmers are filling out necessary paperwork. Additionally we cover delivery costs for farming supplies like wax boxes, clamshells, and baskets, and we are able to sell packaging at cost with no markups. When harvest time comes we can gather a volunteer group for a “crop mob” for farms needing assistance. We arrange for Carolina Farm Stewardship Association to provide food safety workshops for our farmers. And finally, we advise farmers about crop planning and share other sales opportunities available to them.

AW: If a farmer is interested in selling to FDE, what is the process for that? Are there any certifications they would need to have? What about best practices?

JTC: To work with Feast Down East we ask that each producer go through our onboarding process. FDE is a GAP certified facility so we do require each farmer to fill out necessary paperwork such as a Grower Approval Questionnaire (in which farmers share what they grow and their practices) and Farmshare documents (Food Safety Policy and Farmshare Grower Questionnaire).

We encourage farmers to follow best practices like ensuring all produce is free of dirt and blemishes when products arrive to us and using proper packaging such as wax boxes for produce, tomato boxes for tomatoes, clamshells for berries, and plastic bags for herbs.

AW: What sort of contract is in place for farmers selling to FDE?

JTC: FDE does not have a formal contract with the farmers we work with. However, I am in the process of finishing our producer contract, an in-depth document that covers how farmers should wash and package their products, FDE’s customer expectations, our markup to cover delivery costs, and the times for availability, ordering, and product drop off at the Food Hub.

Beyond being a guide for selling to the Food Hub, following these best practices enables farmers to sell practically anywhere else by following industry standards.

AW: What are some tips for farmers who haven’t sold wholesale before? Or best practices you see from farmers who currently sell with FDE?

JTC: Take pride in your product and maintain a high quality product. This is the only thing customers ever see from the farm and they may never get the chance to meet each farmer, so the face of your farm should be your product. Because of brand recognition, farmers with the highest quality products always have good sales even if they do not have much to sell that week.

AW: What products are always in demand? What do you wish more farmers had to offer?

JTC: Varieties of squash (zucchini, yellow squash, butternut, patty pan), kale (green, dino), lettuces/greens (buttercrunch, arugula, spinach, romaine), potatoes (sweet, gold, red, purple), and herbs (rosemary, oregano, basil, mint) are always in demand.

I wish farmers had a longer season for fruits (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, watermelon, pears, peaches), cucumbers, and tomatoes. These items have very high demand when they are in season but the growing season for each is very short.

AW: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers that I didn’t ask about? And, where are farmers you work with located?

Every food hub operates differently and at FDE we only get the exact quantities of products that are sold each week. This changes weekly and is always subject to change. Farmers should explore all possible sales routes when deciding what to grow for each season. Diversify your sales opportunities by not only selling to food hubs but also at farmers markets, and if possible, by providing CSAs.

Feast Down East generally works with farms within 100 miles of our home base in Burgaw, NC, but we’ve been a little more flexible recently with some farms that are closer to around 120 miles away. Some of it depends upon our isolated transportation infrastructure, with some farmers having to drive 10 or more miles to even get on a main road. Some of the farms farthest away are located in Durham, Raleigh, Kittrell, Enfield, Jamesville, Maxton, Sanford, and Harlowe.