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Toss For A Cause - Saturday, April 1, 2023 at The Mann Center of NC

Toss For A Cause 2023 Cornhole Tournament benefitting Partnership For Children & Families
Saturday, April 1, 2023;  10:00 am – 6:00 pm
The Mann Center of North Carolina
507 N Steele St, Sanford, NC 27330

Toss For A Cause is a double elimination Cornhole Tournament raising funds for all 14 of PFCF’s programs. 2-person teams will compete for a grand prize of $500 and 2nd place prize of $250. Local brewer Hugger Mugger will be on-site selling beer, several food trucks will feed the crowd, and vendors will showcase and sell their produce, crafts, and wares. While children are welcome, the event itself is adult-focused.

VENDORS! VENDORS! VENDORS!

Clear your April Fool’s Day calendar to sell your goods at Toss For A Cause! We are in need of vendors of all kinds! Got to Be NC partners would be great vendors that draw a crowd of their own and make the entire event that much more successful. $50 vendor fee (processing fees may apply). Indoor and outdoor spaces available. Indoor space is limited and on a first come, first served basis. Must provide own tent, table and chairs. For more information, vendor or team registration visit www.pfcf.org/toss Sponsorships are also available. Please contact Matt Dilworth at (919) 721-1111 with any questions on sponsorships and vendors.

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2023 National Restaurant Association Show - Got to Be NC Pavilion

The NCDA is gearing up for the 2023 National Restaurant Show (NRA) in Chicago this spring, May 20-23 2023 where will we will have a Got to Be NC Pavilion. Our goal is to highlight all the wonderful things that are going on in our state right now and to show that off to the rest of the world and remind them of how diverse we truly are.

The NRA show is for companies that are ready to do business on a national or international level. Decision makers with big ideas and budgets will be walking the show floors looking for new and exciting products to showcase in their food service operations.

The NCDA understands that this is a costly endeavor to any business. We seek to help our members by providing a highly visible, high value vendor pavilion. A show this size really does call for a large pavilion in order to stand out. An average 10×10 space gets lost in the sea of vendors. Essentially, the NCDA is splitting the cost of the rented floor space and the pavilion design, construction and tear down with our vendor members. Please see the attachments in considering this unique opportunity.

Just to be clear, this is a pavilion and not a booth. Click here to view an example of the pavilion. Our Got to Be NC pavilion is much larger and has a large presence on a prominent corner in the busy South Hall Building.

We have secured funding to make the booth spaces more affordable than ever. More details about this four day, international food show can be found here.

Additional basic information can be found here.

Please contact  Chad Blackwelder at chad.blackwelder@ncagr.gov with any questions or concerns.

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NC AgVentures Accepting Grant Applications

NC AgVentures, which is supported by the NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, is now accepting grant applications and will award a minimum of 40 grants to independent family farms. This is a great opportunity for any producer who is thinking of diversifying, improving, or expanding their operation.

Independent Family Farmers or local community organizations that work directly with farmers from the following counties are eligible to apply:

Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Cabarrus, Caswell, Catawba, Chatham, Davidson, Davie, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Forsyth, Gaston, Granville, Greene, Guilford, Halifax, Harnett, Iredell, Johnston, Lincoln, Martin, Mecklenburg, Nash, Northampton, Orange, Person, Pitt, Randolph, Rockingham, Rowan, Sampson, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Union, Vance, Wake, Wayne, Wilson, Wilkes, Warren, Yadkin

Read more here.

Expand your markets across North Carolina and save money on distribution through The Produce Box

Details from The Produce Box (TPB):

• For the past 15 years, TPB has been delivering to the homes of 8,000 customers across the state using an army of stay-at-home moms (and a few dads).
• Because our products are hand-delivered, we don’t have the “rough handling” issues that sometimes happen when shipping packages using FED EX, etc.
• Our cost for delivering is generally half the cost of shipping.
• We track the delivery of packages, take pictures when delivered and timestamp the process.
• We have a consistent workforce because they are paid very well. Most are making $20+ per hour.

How it could work:

• Companies would take orders on their website and send a list of customer names/addresses to TPB each week.
• TPB can receive deliveries of pre-packed orders each week or can store product in their climate-controlled warehouse and pack the orders.
• They have 5,000 sq. ft of refrigeration and freezer space as well.
• Potential start date of November 15th.

For companies that do NOT have Direct to Consumer, TPB can help distribute their products to wholesale accounts. 

• Expands their market from Wilmington to Charlotte
• Saves transportation costs if they are delivering it themselves (just need to get it to TPB warehouse or potentially “meet TPD halfway”)
• Saves shipping costs compared to FED EX, UPS
• Potential start date of November 15th.

Contact Courtney Tellesfen at courtney@theproducebox.com for more information.

USDA Begins Accepting Applications for $100 Million in Biofuel Infrastructure Grants

Funding Will Increase Availability of Clean Fuels Across the Nation
WASHINGTON, Aug. 23, 2022 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is accepting applications for $100 million in grants to increase the sale and use of biofuels derived from U.S. agricultural products.

USDA is making the funding available through the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP). This program seeks to market higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel by sharing the costs to build and retrofit biofuel-related infrastructure such as pumps, dispensers and storage tanks.

“The Biden-Harris Administration recognizes that rural America is the key to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and giving Americans cleaner, more affordable options at the pump,” Vilsack said. “Biofuels are homegrown fuels. Expanding the availability of higher-blend fuels is a win for American farmers, the rural economy and hardworking Americans who pay the price here at home when we depend on volatile fuel sources overseas.”

Read the full news release to learn more.

Accelerate Rural NC - Helping Grow Rural NC Companies - Classes Begin August 8 - Sign Up Now!

Accelerate Rural NC is a rural business accelerator focused on helping small businesses gain access to global markets with innovative products. Key components of the accelerator include e-commerce development, development of high-value offerings for niche markets, and export training.  The next program begins August 8 and will run for 10 consecutive weeks.

The program is grant-funded and no cost to participants. Participants will receive:

• Intensive innovation and entrepreneurship training
• Prototyping and new product development assistance
• Web development and e-commerce development
• Market plan development
• Export target market identification assistance

The development phase of our program is supported by an Ecosystem grant from NC IDEA.

Interested businesses should apply now!  Click here to apply.

Calling all NC Manufacturers of Shelf Stable Food Products

Heaven’s Gate Orchard, LLC, a veteran owned and operated concern, is preparing to open a Western North Carolina retail sales point at the Western north Carolina Farmers Market in Asheville, NC, and is currently soliciting interested North Carolina manufacturers of shelf stable food products.  This opportunity allows your products to be displayed in a high trafficability, high reputation location, featured with the “best of the best” from North Carolina. Brick and Mortar marketing will be complemented by a strong eCommerce marketing campaign spotlighting your products. Exciting opportunity for North Carolina  suppliers wishing to extend their sales presence in Western North Carolina! Stay tuned for details! Please communicate an initial interest to learn more by emailing Ray Burkart at Raymond.burkart@heavensgateorchard.com.

North Carolina Juice Concentrate Processors Needed

Cool Tropics is looking for North Carolina fruit/vegetable juice processors. To learn more contact Mystie Ziminsky at (781) 357-1210 ext. 3311 or email mystiez@cool-tropics.com.

RETOOLNC GRANT FUNDING IS BACK FOR ROUND 3

The North Carolina Department of Administration’s Office for Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB) has opened applications for grant funds for certified HUBs and disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) firms impacted by COVID-19.

The RETOOLNC program awards up to $25,000 to eligible certified small, underutilized businesses to help with pandemic recovery efforts.

To qualify for RETOOLNC funds, North Carolina businesses must:

·    Have been in operation since February 2019
·    Be certified with NCHUB or NCDOT DBE
·    Be an independent business located within NC
·    Be a business with 50 employees or fewer (includes sole proprietorships, home based businesses, and independent contractors)
·    Not have annual revenues exceeding $1,500,000
·    Not be delinquent on North Carolina State income taxes
·    Not have any active bankruptcies or tax liens
·    Be a for-profit business
·    Be an independent franchisor and locally owned, if it is a franchise
·    Provide a detailed statement of how the business has been impacted due to COVID-19
·    Be engaged in legal activity

To learn more about the RETOOLNC initiative and how to register for the information session, visit the NC HUB Office website for details.

Apple here
Retool NC FAQs

Source: https://ncadmin.nc.gov/retoolnc.

Entries Now Open for the 2023 Good Food Awards

Makers of good food & drink, it’s your time to shine: entries for the 2023 Good Food Awards are now open! From farmstead cheeses to world-class kimchi, the Good Food Awards recognize craftsmanship and flavor alongside environmental and social responsibility–and we want you to be a part of it all.

From June 1-30, the 10-minute entry form will be available here. The $82 entry fee covers the cost of processing, storing, sorting and transporting products to the annual blind tasting, where category experts and professionals from the food community will identify this year’s top scorers. Optional feedback from judges is also available ($15).

For the first three days of entry period (June 1-3), crafters can use code EARLYBIRD to receive $10 off their second entry. BIPOC-identifying crafters can receive one complimentary entry by emailing connect@goodfoodfdn.org.

Questions? Check out the category standards and FAQs, or send us an email.

Enter the Good Food Awards | June 1-30
$82 per entry, $15 optional feedback | Up to 3 entries per category

USDA LAMP Grant Applications Now Open

The USDA recently opened applications for the Local Agriculture Marketing Program (LAMP) grants. These grants include the Farmers Market Promotion Program, Local Food Promotion Program, and the Regional Food System Partnerships.

The LAMP grants recently received $130 million dollars of supplemental funding from the American Rescue Plan to “promote competition and create more and better markets for local and regional food producers by expanding and strengthening opportunities to sell to institutions, such as universities, hospitals, and settings operated by local, tribal, and state governments.”

Learn more on the USDA website

Sales Opportunity - MDI Marketplace (powered by Specialty Food Partners)

Specialty Food Partners is a technology company that operates a private online marketplace for MDI (the MDI Marketplace), enabling MDI to offer an unlimited number of specialty, natural and organic products available for direct purchase by their retail accounts. Because MDI does not have to hold inventory in these items, they are incentivized to offer them for sale to their customers.

Specialty Food Partners does not charge vendors for listing or selling items on their platform, and there is no cost to for suppliers to join or to include your broker in the program.

The MDI Marketplace program is set up for vendors who are not in the MDI system.  The MDI Marketplace is a dropship program where MDI customers can find and order new items.  Vendors are notified of the orders and receive pre-paid shipping labels so they can ship their orders direct to the retailers (MDI customers).

If you have any questions about this program, you can reach Specialty Food Partners by email suppliers@specialtyfoodpartners.com) or phone (Matt: 203-517-0041 x 204, Hannah: 203-517-0041 x 203).

Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program

Are you a farmer interested in being paid to protect water quality? The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) works with farmers to convert low-yield cropland and marginal pastureland into riparian forests that protect water quality, create wildlife habitat, and provide an additional source of income for farmers.

Participating farmers enroll eligible fields into conservation easements- written agreements between the landowner and the state of North Carolina.  The landowner agrees to carry out conservation practices and to restrict future cropping and development on the land but retains private ownership. In return, the farmer receives per-acre payments, a one-time bonus and cost shares to reimburse the farmer for the cost of establishing conservation practices.

CREP is accepting enrollments in the eastern ¾ of the state. To be eligible, the land must have been owned for 1 year, have been farmed for at least four years between 2012 and 2018, and be adjacent to a qualifying water body. See if your land is eligible and contact CREP staff using our interactive map.

Smithfield Foods Minority Farmer Initiative

Smithfield Foods has established a new contract grower program to support Black and minority farmers and diversify to their hog supply chain. This innovative initiative will help  build a stronger agricultural future that encompasses a broader range of perspectives and backgrounds in their work to feed the world.

Retail Product Opportunity

The Village Market, just outside Greenville NC, is interested in sourcing local products for their new storefront.  They plan to sell NC meat, eggs, milk, pre-made meals along with local honey, jams/jellies, and other locally made food products.  They are also interested in soaps, candles and other NC artisan made items.  Members who may be interested can contact Justin Lawrence at (252) 702- 5650 or villagemarketnc@gmail.com.

Phillips Farms Farmers Market Accepting Vendor Apps

We have our very own Farmers Market every weekend! We are excited for this new addition to the farm. It’s another great way we are connecting to the community and helping people get local, amazing, and healthy food!

We are currently booking farms and vendors for our new market and are specifically looking for farms that sell local produce, artisan vendors, and handcrafted goods. Please reach out to emily@phillipsfarmsofcary.com if you are interested in becoming a vendor.

Food Product Distribution Opportunity

Ripe Revival Market NEEDS SUPPLIERS for their growing membership program providing seasonal produce and grocery box deliveries to 3 regions in central and eastern NC.  The grocery box option provides additional products made right here in North Carolina in addition to seasonal produce.  Each is hand selected based on availability and seasonality.  Product variety will change each week, as they strive to work directly with local and regional farmers and food production companies to provide a broad mix of products to keep families nourished with each weekly delivery. For more information visit riperevivalmarket.com or contact Will at (252) 567-8305 or email info@riperevivalmarket.com.

EmPOWERing Mountain Food Systems Grants

Direct grants, cost-share and low-interest loans are available to food and farming businesses in seven Southwestern North Carolina counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians from EmPOWERing Mountain Food Systems. Funds may be used for equipment, infrastructure and supplies to increase production and income. The program also offers free business counseling services, an apprenticeship program and support for value-added food production. Contact Laura Lauffer at lwlauffe@ncsu.edu for more information.