[kislideshow kirotate=”true”][kislideshowslide kiimageurl=”https://ncgrowth.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2015NewProjects.jpg”]Nicole Thomas (right) at Feast Down East with Farmer Foodshare’s Karla Capacetti[/kislideshowslide][kislideshowslide kiimageurl=”https://ncgrowth.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2015WarrenFoods.jpg”]Meeting with the team at Warren Food Works[/kislideshowslide][kislideshowslide kiimageurl=”https://ncgrowth.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2015GabeCummings.jpg”]Gabe Cummings, co-founder of Working Landscapes in their new café Warren Foodworks[/kislideshowslide][/kislideshow]
NCGrowth started new economic development projects in Onslow, Edgecombe, Wayne, and Warren counties as well as two projects that focus on regional economic development. Each project will receive assistance from faculty experts, staff and a graduate student analyst. The graduate student analysts have been carefully selected and join each project with the necessary technical skills.
Dr. Rebecca Dunning will provide support on several food-related projects specifically as they relate to localizing food supply chains in North Carolina, guiding all final documents concerning agriculture, and assisting in developing strategies and best practices for sustainable food initiatives. She is a senior research scholar for the
Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) at
NC State University.
Warren FoodWorks café and shared-use kitchen will get a market analysis and cash flow statement through NCGrowth this spring. Warren FoodWorks is operated by
Working Landscapes, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to create more sustainable livelihoods for people in the Warren County region through stewardship of natural and cultural resources. Warren FoodWorks aims to enable regional food entrepreneurs to produce value added products, bring locally raised meat products to market, provide a retail outlet for local food entrepreneurs, increase access to local, healthy foods, and provide a community gathering spot.
UNC MPA/
City and Regional Planning graduate student analyst Andrew Trump will produce cash flow statements and market analysis on the café to enable Warren FoodWorks to become financially feasible, achieve its social goals, and persuasively articulate its business model to potential investors and funders.
NCEast Alliance and NCGrowth will conduct a supply chain analysis on motor vehicle assembly and parts manufacturing. The NCEast Alliance region is characterized by the presence of motor vehicle assembly and parts manufacture firms like Cummins Diesel (diesel engines), NACCO Materials Handling (forklifts), Crown Equipment (lift truck), VT Hackney (beverage trucks) and LS Tractor (farm equipment assembly). There are also several automotive suppliers, particularly Japanese companies, like Keihin, ASMO, Uchiyama and Bridgestone, that are direct suppliers to North American automotive assembly plants.
Kenan-Flagler MBA Analyst Fumihiro Kawasaki will identify and define the regional cluster, create a value chain diagram that links existing local companies involved in the same supply chain, analyze economic data associated with the cluster to determine employment trends, growth trends and relative concentration of the linked industries, as well as conduct a gap analysis of the industries to determine where NC East Alliance should focus their attention to further develop or strengthen the cluster. This project was recently featured in the
Greenville Reflector.
NCGrowth partnered with the
City of Goldsboro to develop an economic development strategy for Goldsboro and surrounding areas. Within Goldsboro and Wayne County, there are multiple governmental, not-for-profit, and private entities involved in different aspects of economic development. While many resources currently exist, small differences in focus or mission can create barriers to effective collaboration. Given new fiscal constraints, there is a greater need for a comprehensive economic development strategy created through a process that engages all regional, economic development-related entities. This economic development strategy led by
Kenan-Flagler MBA/
City and Regional Planning analyst Meisha McDaniel will incorporate information provided by the City of Goldsboro, the
Downtown Goldsboro Development Corporation, mission-aligned entities, as well as community leaders in the region.
NCGrowth will conduct a feasibility study and create a preliminary business plan for the Regional Food Hub to be located in Onslow County and will include surrounding counties of Carteret, Craven, Duplin, Jones, Lenoir, Pender and Wayne in North Carolina. The Regional Food Hub is proposed as part of the “
Food & Fuel 4 the Forces,” or FF4F, program of
NCEast Alliance and the
US Marine Corps. FF4F aims to bring more North Carolina-grown and produced products to local military bases while protecting farmland and forests near the bases. The food hub is one element of a larger project to create successful and sustainable economic and community partnerships between Camp Lejeune and the surrounding region. Other project partners include
Feast Down East, the
Southeastern NC Food System,
NC Cooperative Extension, and
Onslow County. A food hub, in this context, provides a central location for aggregation, washing, packing, processing and distributing product from regional farms. It also provides support to farmers in terms of training, marketing of products and new market development.
The Town of Princeville partnered with NCGrowth to research opportunities for economic development based on their historic and cultural assets. Princeville was founded by former slaves as Freedom Hill in 1865, just at the end of the American Civil War. Over the years, Princeville has experienced many devastating floods—some residents have moved away and others chose to rebuild and carry on. The Town’s population has risen and receded, much like the Tar River that has shaped its destiny. Today, the survival of Princeville is a testament to the determination and tenacity of its residents—the Town’s population stands at some 2,200 residents—an all-time high.
Kenan-Flagler MBA analyst David Ball will provide an in-depth analysis and comparison of towns that have successfully leveraged their history and culture for economic development. This research will also include recommendations for Princeville to leverage its own historical and cultural assets, including the Museum, for economic development and revenue generation.
NCGrowth will perform a business analysis of Farmer Foodshare’s POP Food Market and Community Nutrition Partnership’s (“CNP”) Veggie Van and provide recommendations on how the programs can achieve financial sustainability as well as work more cooperatively. CNP and Farmer Foodshare have shared missions to provide low-wealth communities with access to healthy, fresh food at reasonable prices while creating new markets for local small- to mid-sized farmers. The organizations are jointly working towards their shared mission through the Veggie Van program, with Farmer Foodshare supplying food to CNP’s Veggie Van program.
Kenan-Flagler MBA analyst Nicole Thomas will conduct individual business analysis on both Veggie Van and the POP Food Market programs.
