NC State Extension Expands Delivery of Local Produce to Coastal Tourists

The Vacationer Supported Agriculture (VSA) initiative was developed by a team from NC State Extension including Tourism Extension as part of part of a 3-year USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program grant to coordinate the sale of weekly produce bags to vacationers over the summer tourism season.

Tourism is a big industry in North Carolina and our beaches attract visitors from around the world. Vacationers to the state spend over $25.3 billion and generate over 230,000 jobs, supporting more than 45,000 businesses annually.

Bringing Fresh Fruits and Vegetables to Cottages and Condos

Piloted in Ocean Isle Beach in 2018, the program recently expanded to deliver more local produce to summer tourists at North Carolina beaches. In 2019 and 2020, volunteers delivered local produce to Brunswick County beaches (Sunset Beach, Holden Beach, Oak Island, and Bald Head Island), as well as Wrightsville Beach and Surf City. The program experienced exponential growth as a result of the 2019 expansion and had strong sales in 2020 despite the pandemic. In 2021, the program expanded to include N. Topsail Beach, Emerald Isle, Atlantic Beach, and Ocracoke.

The Farmers Who Grow the Food

Alan Weatherly, one of the farmers who supplies produce for the program, is known as the “Watermelon Man” and is featured in a film produced by Carteret Local Food Network (CLFN), a non-profit organization based in Carteret County and the VSA aggregator for beaches on the Crystal Coast. They connected with the VSA program in 2021 to raise awareness in the beach community of the value of local food and its contribution to a healthy, local community. Chef Caroline Dominguez, the Farm and Food Director for CLFN, spearheads the aggregation and delivery effort for Emerald Isle and Atlantic Beach.

Aggregation and delivery to other VSA beach markets are led by local farmers including Brian Knowles of Bear Ridge Farms who serves Topsail Island beaches;  Morgan Milne of Red Beard Farms who delivers local products to Wrightsville Beach, and Thomas Midgette of Engelhard who packs and transports produce bags and eggs to the Ferry for delivery to Ocracoke every Sunday in June, July, and August.

The Volunteers Who Pack and Deliver the Goods

In Brunswick County beaches, Men and Women United for Youth and Families, a non-profit job
development center in Columbus County, acts as the aggregator of local produce and eggs from
over 30 farmers. Randolph Keaton, its Executive Director, oversees the operation of aggregating,
packing, and delivering about one hundred bags per week by a dozen or so “youth ambassadors”
who gain valuable work experience in the process. In a short film, produced this year to describe
the VSA program, Keaton credits the youth for their ownership of and commitment to the VSA
program.

The NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission supports the VSA program through grant funding for the aggregators serving each VSA beach market. VSA has been both regionally and nationally recognized as an innovative approach to direct to consumer farm sales.

Sustaining and Enhancing Recreation and Tourism Resources

As a land-grant institution, NC State serves the people of North Carolina through sharing actionable knowledge and providing support services to local communities, businesses and government agencies. The Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management exemplifies this commitment through our work to sustain and enhance recreation and tourism resources and opportunities. Our extension and outreach programs help to protect our state’s special places, such as parks, farms and tourist destinations, and to enhance the health and well-being of our residents, tourists and businesses.

Ordering a VSA Bag of Local Produce

In addition to produce bags, VSA customers can now order eggs and shrimp through partnerships with local fish houses. To order a VSA produce bag, visit People-First Provisions. For more information about NC State Extension or the VSA program, contact Becky Bowen at blbowen@ncsu.edu.