Carolinas Food Industry Council

Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler met recently with CFIC Executive Director Fran Preston and General Counsel Andy Ellen to discuss how the retail grocery industry can combine communication forces with the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Both groups are interested in working together to better disseminate information to the public about food industry news, programs, regulatory questions and changes.

"The purpose of our visit was to try to find ways that the retail grocery industry in North Carolina could interface and work effectively with Commissioner Troxler and the Agriculture Department," said Preston .

Troxler and Preston discussed the policies already in place, along with new initiatives from the desk of the Commissioner, that promise to increase cooperation between the NCDA&CS and grocery industries.

One of Commissioner Troxler's top priorities is to preserve North Carolina 's farms with the goal of strengthening the business of family farming. As part of this initiative, the Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund would provide farmers with loans and grants that could help pay for the development of value-added enterprises and agribusiness expansions, including the sale of locally grown products in area grocery stores.

The department's Goodness Grows in North Carolina program helps farmers promote and sell their commodities and value-added products and helps consumers easily identify high-quality North Carolina products. The Retail Marketing Section of NCDA&CS works with grocers to stock and promote local products. When consumers see the Goodness Grows logo in their grocery store, they can be confident they are filling their carts with the freshest selection of North Carolina-grown commodities.

Gleaning, or secondary harvesting, is another area where the department and grocers have common interests. Like NCDA&CS, many stores and manufacturers support salvage programs with food banks and other hunger-relief agencies.

Commissioner Troxler also believes that sharing information and the latest changes in the department's regulations involving the grocery industry will help the industry be proactive rather than reactive. The department's Standards Division inspects price scanners and scales to ensure fairness in trade.

"We see this as a service to consumers and grocers alike," Troxler said. "The grocery industry is highly competitive, and maintaining customer satisfaction is important to the bottom line.

"By working together with the Carolinas Food Industry Council within NCRMA to promote, distribute and regulate North Carolina products, I believe the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will better serve the public as a whole, and at the same time, add to the vitality of our family farms," Troxler said.

For more information about programs and divisions of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, visit www.ncagr.com.