Mission

To cultivate a resilient, sustainable and equitable local food system in Chatham County, NC. 

History

In early 2013 the Chatham County Health Department received a grand from the Center for Disease Control’s Community Transformation Grant Program to explore possibly developing a local food council. The Health Department teamed up with Chatham County Cooperative Extension to develop a list of Chatham County local food system stakeholders and continue the process of developing a council.

With a professional facilitator from the Center for Environmental Farming Systems paid for by the grant, the first public meeting was held in the summer of 2013 that attracted stakeholders from different sectors of the food system working throughout the county. These stakeholders came from and represented the county government, non-profits, food banks, farms, restaurants, and other local food- and agriculture-related businesses.

A Task Force was formed in the fall of 2013 to lay the groundwork for a fully formed Food Council. The Task Force held regular meetings and developed a Mission, Charter, and Resolution that was presented to the Chatham County Commissioners and approved in May 2014 resulting in a Food Council that was formally supported by Chatham County government.

The Task Force solicited applications for the Food Council and selected members in the summer of 2014. The first Chatham Community Food Council meeting was held in August 2014.

Current Council Members

Tara Gregory, Chatham County Cooperative Extension

Debbie Roos, Chatham County Cooperative Extension

Melinda Fitzgerald, Country Farm & Home Supply

Billie Hinton, Writer, psychotherapist, native plant gardener

 Community partners and friends