Grants and New Protocols Help North Carolina Producers Deliver Local Food to Consumers Amid Pandemic
In partnership with: North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
North Carolina’s food and animal industry represents nearly 70 percent of the state’s ag economy – so when COVID-19 hit, food systems were at risk. In response, North Carolina created the Increasing Meat Production Efficiency and Capacity (IMPEC) cost-share grant program with $20 million in CARES funding to help strengthen the meat supply chain and ensure consumers have adequate sources of protein.
IMPEC grants enabled meat and seafood processors to increase efficiency and capability, although many were already near capacity pre-pandemic, says Dr. Alexander M. “Sandy” Stewart, assistant commissioner of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS). When the pandemic hit, a bottleneck quickly occurred. Wait times for slaughter grew from four weeks to several months.
More Protein for the Masses
To increase capacity, seafood processors commonly requested funds for more freezer storage capabilities. Beef processor grant applications centered around three themes: cooler space to hang more carcasses, machinery or equipment for butchering, and workforce training. In just a few months, NCDA&CS staff awarded 57 IMPEC grants.
With grant funding, one pork processor obtained a bacon slicing machine that slices a pork belly into bacon in about 45 seconds, down from the four to five minutes it took previously. “Prior to receiving the grant, this processor had about an eight-week backlog,” Stewart says. “They were able to work through that in about a week or so after the new machine came online.”
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Another beef processor used grant funds to expand capability for hanging carcasses – from 25 up to 125 within the same facility. “If you look at that five times increase from the farmer’s perspective, that’s a much shorter time feeding and providing husbandry for those animals, which is a significant saving and better management for the producer,” Stewart says.
Increasing local meat processors’ capacity strengthens the diversity of channels through which food comes from the farm to somebody’s table, Stewart says. “More channels reduce the risk when something catastrophic happens, and at the same time, a more localized food system gives the consumer more choice.”
Implementing New Procedures
Many North Carolinians prefer to buy local food, and Deans Farm Market in Wilson gives residents multiple options, including fresh, seasonal fruit and produce, meats, and specialty items like jellies and butters. James and Courtney Sharp have run Deans since 2001 and added a commercial kitchen in 2016 for complete meals on the go. Other offerings include field trips, private parties, summer camps and special events such as fall hayrides.
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When the pandemic hit, Deans closed for indoor shopping and transitioned to drive-thru service. “We put that in place so when people didn’t want to go into stores, they could order ahead of time and we’d bring it to the car,” James says. The practice required extra staffing, but “it was good to continue to provide for the community and for us to stay open.”
When indoor shopping returned, James had installed plexiglass barriers, air conditioning to make employees’ masking more comfortable, and increased sanitizing and cleaning. Deans resumed the popular fall hayrides by selling tickets online for a set number of entries per hour. “This allowed us to ensure social distancing and do temperature checks of those attending, guaranteeing an even flow and eliminating some of the peaks we’d normally see,” James explains. He says Deans will probably maintain that practice in the future.
“We continue to make improvements as necessary to provide safe products for our customers and community,” James says. “During COVID, we still went to work every day, whether it was harvesting in the field, preparing a meal in the kitchen or serving a customer at the farm market – we never slowed down.”