LOCAL FOOD AS MEDICINE
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(LocalFAM)

"I like how LocalFAM expands food access to people who need it… it's also helpful that we don't have to discount prices to help the community." - High Country Farmer

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FIND FREE FOOD

impact

What is LocalFAM?

Local Food As Medicine (LocalFAM) is BRWIA's food access program, which enables community organizations to provide their neighbors with fresh, nutritious food, supplied by local producers. The food is free to our recipients, but producers are paid full retail price for their products. Funding is provided by grants.

On average, 1 in 6 people in the High Country are food insecure, despite the deep agricultural roots in the region and abundance of locally produced food. LocalFAM helps to bridge this gap by redistributing these products to those most in need, while also providing a new market channel for local farmers and producers.

​"LocalFAM is built on the philosophy that everyone has a right to access healthy food and that nutritious food can serve as medicine, particularly for treating and preventing many of the chronic illnesses that people experiencing food insecurity are at a high risk for. This idea of using food as a form of preventative care has gained traction within the medical community in recent years, and we are excited to see this kind of holistic thinking continue to gain support."
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-Sam Springs, BRWIA's LocalFAM Coordinator

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2024 Impact

Impact from Previous Years

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Partner Testimonial

"BRWIA's LocalFAM program has been such a great partnership on many levels. We love supporting our local farmers while also providing healthier food access to our neighbors. BRWIA has given us a gateway to develop stronger relationships with our local farmers, provide fresh foods to our neighbors, and preserve cultural land and traditions. Our local partnerships have already made a positive impact. One mother shared how access to fresh, local produce has helped her prepare healthier meals for her children, boosting their well-being and school performance."

​​- Vanessa Benavides, Program Manager, Feeding Avery Families Food Pantry

​"Three words that describe LocalFAM: Collaborative, Empowering, Nourishing"

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A Typical Week of LocalFAM

From delivery to packing to distribution, play the slideshow!

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Partner Organizations

Do you represent an organization that could benefit from receiving free local food? Please fill out this form and we will be in touch with more details. We are specifically looking to partner with organizations that support women, racial and ethnic minorities, and other historically disadvantaged populations, but ALL organizations are encouraged to reach out.

​Email [email protected] for more information! ​

Partner Organizations

(Current and past organizations)

• App State Mountaineer Food Pantry
• Ashe Food Pantry
• Blowing Rock Cares
• Boone, NC Junaluska Community
• Boone Service Workers Coalition
• Children's Council of Watauga
• Casting Bread Food Pantry
• Feeding Avery Families
• Foscoe Home Team
• ​Green Valley School Summer Program (supported by Boone UMC, Bethany Lutheran & Blackburn Chapel UMC)
• Healthy Opportunities Pilot
• Hospitality House of Northwest NC
• Hunger & Health Coalition
• Piney Creek United Methodist Church
• Samaritan Kitchen of Wilkes
• Shiloh UMC
• Solid Rock Food Closet
• St. Luke's Episcopal Church 
• Western Watauga Food Outreach (Henson Chapel UMC)
• Wilkes Ministry of Hope​

Looking for free food?

Click on the interactive map to find food pantries and organizations that provide free food in the High Country!

We partner with many local organizations to provide fresh choices for their clients.
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The map show which pantries currently source fresh, local food from the High Country Food Hub (in green).

​Contact individual organizations for more information.

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Goals for the Future

• Expand the LocalFAM program to include a wider variety of communities, both in Watauga and in our neighboring counties.
• Empower our participating producers by offering a reliable market channel throughout the year and support their future in agriculture.
• Establish long-term to year-round food box programs to provide consistent support to our community.

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PREVIOUS EVENTS & INITIATIVES

• ncIMPACT Webinar
• Holiday Love
• LocalFAM Summit
• Western Watauga
• Green Valley
• Farm Fresh Nourish

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ncIMPACT Webinar: "Local Strategies for Stronger Food Security Systems"
​August 20, 2025

This webinar session explored how local governments and their partners can strengthen food security systems in their communities. Dr. Maureen Berner of the UNC School of Government provided a big-picture overview of food security in North Carolina, including what it is, why it matters, and key challenges and opportunities. Sam Springs from Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture offered a local perspective, sharing how food security work is being implemented on the ground and what other communities can learn from their efforts.

This webinar series is free and open to the public as part of this year's Drivers of Change series, hosted by the UNC School of Government's ncIMPACT Initiative through the Growing Practical Solutions for North Carolina (GPS NC) program.

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Local Love for the Holidays, 2024

In December 2024, BRWIA, the High Country Food Hub and the Local Food as Medicine (LocalFAM) program partnered with Blue Cross Blue Shield NC, Piedmont Custom Meats, Blowing Rock Cares, Casting Bread, Feeding Avery Families, and Food Lion of Blowing Rock to purchase and distribute local veggies and sausage plus delicious hams to our neighbors in need this holiday season. Distribution to our partners took place on Dec. 11 and 12, 2024.

Food Hub ​Customer donations totaled $2000 for the Local Love for the Holidays program and was matched dollar-for-dollar! Thank you so much for your support! ​

More about the LOcal LOve Program

LocalFAM Summit Presentation
​March 7, 2024

BRWIA convened an Annual LocalFAM Summit in February 2023 and March 2024. We brought together food access organizations, farmers, and community stakeholders to learn from other professionals who are passionate about healthy food access and to collaborate to form strategic partnerships and to find solutions to community food access issues.

On average, 1 in 8 people experience food insecurity in the High Country (Source: feedingamerica.org)

If you want to know more about food insecurity in the High Country, check out this slideshow!

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Fresh Local Produce Brings Healthy Meals to Seniors​

From January through September 2025, the Western Watauga Senior Center in Cove Creek got a big boost of fresh, locally grown produce thanks to a grant awarded to Henson Chapel United Methodist Church in Vilas. The grant came as part of the Come To The Table program, operated by RAFI-USA, which supports faith-based communities who want to get involved in food system work.

Staff and volunteers at BRWIA's High Country Food Hub purchased and packed produce bags filled with healthy fruits and vegetables for the Senior Center's meal program. In total, 350 produce bags - totaling more than 2,000 pounds - were delivered, helping nourish seniors while also supporting local farms here in the High Country.

"We're so grateful for all the fresh vegetables that were delivered to the senior center," said Evita Henson of Henson Chapel UMC. "The families that received the vegetables are very appreciative of what they have received."

​This project is part of BRWIA's Local Food as Medicine program, which works to connect our community's most vulnerable neighbors with locally grown, healthy food.

Green Valley Summer Program

​In the summer of 2025, BRWIA's Local Food as Medicine program was able to support the 10th year of the Green Valley Summer Feeding Program, partnering with Bethany Lutheran Church. With funding from The Conservation Fund, the Green Valley Summer Feeding Program was able to partner with the High Country Food Hub for the first time, purchasing nearly $4,200 of fresh, locally produced food from regional farmers.

Through Local Food as Medicine, families in the Green Valley district received five food box deliveries over the summer, serving 23 households with nourishing, seasonal produce. These boxes not only provided healthy food for families but also strengthened our local farming community.

Pastor Laura Weant of Bethany Lutheran Church shared, "This has been a great partnership this summer. We were so thrilled with the beautiful produce we received and the families we served were also impressed and enjoyed it. And we can't thank you enough for how simple you made it for us. I know a lot of work went on behind the scenes on your end, so thanks for being such great partners."

We are proud that Local Food as Medicine helped expand this incredible program, connecting local farms with local families and celebrating a decade of nourishing the Green Valley community!

​Farm Fresh Nourish Brings Over 10,000 Pounds of Local Produce to High Country Pantries

Boone, NC — From May through September 2025, Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture (BRWIA) and the High Country Food Hub partnered with Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina to bring farm-fresh produce to local food pantries through Farm Fresh Nourish, a farm-to-pantry initiative that connects local farmers with families in need of healthy food.

The summer of 2025 marked BRWIA's fourth year participating in the program, which strengthens community health while supporting local farmers. Each week, BRWIA delivered 100 bags of fresh fruits and vegetables to two food pantries in Wilkes and Alleghany counties. Between the two pantries, a total of 2,000 healthy food bags and 12,600 pounds of produce was delivered. As a result, an estimated $70,000 was invested back into the local economy, supporting 20 High Country Food Hub producers.

"Our customers looked forward to the fresh produce every week…it's been a wonderful addition to what we can offer our neighbors," said Virginia Seibert, Executive Director of Solid Rock Food Closet in Sparta. "Fresh, local food makes a big difference for folks with health conditions like high blood pressure or heart disease. Fresh is best, and knowing it's grown nearby makes it even better."
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Farm Fresh Nourish is one of ten Local Food as Medicine (LocalFAM) projects BRWIA implemented this year, each designed to strengthen food access and community health through partnerships that support local farms.