Rocky Mount Today

Five counties in North Carolina have high rates of food insecurity compared to other areas in the state, according to Feeding America, the country’s largest domestic hunger relief organization.

The organization defines food insecurity as a household’s inability to provide enough food for every person to live an active, healthy life. 

Edgecombe, Wilson, Nash, Northampton and Halifax counties all have high incidences, with Edgecombe having the highest rate of food insecurity in the state. 

“It’s taken a long time to get the region into this situation,” said Cooper Blackwell, advisory board chair of the Just Foods Collaborative of Nash/Edgecombe Counties, a grassroots food policy organization, told North Carolina Health News.

Community groups from Edgecombe, Wilson, Nash, Northampton and Halifax are partnering with the Upper Coastal Plain Council to develop and implement ways to combat the issue, said Ron Townley, planning and development services program director at the council. 

It will begin with mapping out all the food resources available in each county. 

The mapping process is time-consuming but is worth it, said Erin Brighton. Brighton is an education director and former executive director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Food Policy Council. 

The Council has already used the mapping process and used information garnered from the data to apply for grants to help fund efforts that address hunger issues. The mapping data was also used to help bring about governmental changes in the community. The city council changed zoning laws based on data gleaned from mapping. Now mobile farmers markets are allowed to operate in the city. 

Getting fresh produce isn’t always easy, particularly for those who live in rural areas. It isn’t common to see a farmers market in a rural area, said, Kendrick Ransome, a fourth-generation farmer in Edgecombe County. And residents in rural areas don’t always have transportation to travel 10 to 20 miles to get to one, he said. 

Lack of financial resources can be another limitation, especially when it comes to organic produce. Growing fruits and vegetables can be expensive and the farmer has to cover that cost, Ransome said. 

He is working with local businesses to offer pop-up farmers markets in smaller towns in the county.