Local Produce Safety Initiative

Goal: The long-term goal of this proposed expansion of our work to date is to level the playing field for small-scale, limited-resource, and new and beginning farmers seeking access to the high-value market for local foods in Carolina communities; as the local food market shifts increasingly to wholesale distribution channels, these types of producers will have to demonstrate effective farm food safety programs, and our work provides scale-appropriate training and support to do so.Objective 1:conduct eight 1-day workshops covering Principles of Fresh Produce Safety and Navigating the GAP Audit to 120 workshop participantsObjective 2:conduct eight 1-day workshops covering Food Safety Program and Plan Development to 120 workshop participantsObjective 3:provide direct Food Safety Program and Plan Development assistance to 60 small-scale farms seeking GAP certification