A food distribution program at UNC-Wilmington is opening a food processing center this week for local farmers. The center will act as a way to deliver locally grown fruits and vegetables to area schools and restaurants. Farmers can store their goods at the center and make a profit from distribution.
Leslie Hossfeld is a co-founder of the program that sponsors the food center, called Feast Down East. She says the facility has partnered with more than 70 restaurants in Wilmington:
"Typically, the smaller farmer is sort of left out of that institutional buying loop. And so we're giving support, network, and strengthening the capacity of our small farmers, and then getting their product into our public institutions."
Hossfeld says the center will distribute food over 11 counties in the area. A report from the North Carolina Cooperative extension says the center is one of less than a dozen food processing facilities in North Carolina. It opens tomorrow at the Historic Train Depot in Burgaw.