SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — Launched officially at the beginning of the year by Feast Down East, the Cape Fear Food Council has the goal of advocating for local and state-wide policies that support the local food industry; now, they’ve got a new challenged — coordinating the ongoing food response to Hurricane Florence.
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Based in the Wilmington area, Cape Fear Food Council (CFFC) is aiming to connect non-profits, small businesses and government organization across Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, and Pender counties.
The mission of CFFC’s new Food Info Hub, according to its new website page for the program, is to be “a centralized system of communication and coordination between food relief organizations in southeastern NC. The purpose is to avoid duplication of efforts, identify service area gaps, and maximize resources.”
The Food Info Hub enters participating organizations into a database; organizations submit brief daily status updates. CFFC uses this consistently updated database to respond to changing needs, allowing CFCC’s team to “reallocate supplies and other resources by connecting those with shortages to those with supplies.”
How it works
According to CFFC, the Food Info Hub has three steps:
Step 1 — Food relief organizations add themselves to the Food Info Hub database by completing our iintake form. This form will collect your organization’s contact information, type(s) of services provided, and the geographic reach of your efforts. If you prefer not to fill out the form online, please call our hotline at (910) 686-1233 and someone will get back to you shortly to take your information by phone.
Step 2 — After completing the intake form, your organization’s primary contact(s) will be automatically added to our texting service. Each evening we will text you (or another designated individual) a link to a daily report where you can send us any status changes. This will only take 1-2 minutes each day.
Step 3 — Based on info from daily reports, Cape Fear Food Council volunteers will help reallocate supplies and other resources by connecting organizations with shortages to those with surplus.
For more information, and to sign up, visit the Cape Fear Food Council’s Food Info Hub website.
