Since 2012, the carolina farm stewardship association's (cfsa) local produce safety initiative has delivered research-based, practical, and approachable food safety education, training, and outreach…

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association $528,038 under the Food Safety Outreach Program (CFDA 10.328) on September 15, 2025, to expand food safety training and technical assistance to farmers in North and South Carolina through September 29, 2028.

CFSA will deliver research-based food safety education, training, and outreach across the region using a train-the-trainer model involving local community organizations. The project targets 990 farmers to increase their food safety risk management knowledge through field days, workshops, or webinars. Within that cohort, 90 farmers will complete training meeting FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirements, 96 will receive direct technical assistance aligned to their specific goals, and the program anticipates 500 will implement at least one food safety procedure, 60 will achieve audit-ready status, and 30 will obtain Good Agricultural Practices certification. Assistance includes water testing and sampling, soil amendment management, food safety plan development, and FSMA compliance support.

CFSA, headquartered in Pittsboro, North Carolina, functions as the prime recipient. Performance occurs at the Pittsboro location. The program builds on CFSA's twelve-year track record under the Local Produce Safety Initiative, through which the organization has trained over 3,400 farmers and agricultural educators on GAP practices, directly assisted 650 farmers in developing food safety plans, and helped 220 farmers pass GAP audits to expand market access.

Since 2012, the carolina farm stewardship association's (cfsa) local produce safety initiative has delivered research-based, practical, and approachable food safety education, training, and outreach programs to growers serving markets for local foods in communities across north and south carolina. Through the twelve years of this program, cfsa has trained over 3,400 farmers and AG educators on good agricultural practices (GAP), including water testing and sampling, management of soil amendments, and food safety plan development. The program has also directly assisted in developing and writing food safety plans for more than 650 farmers. IT has also assisted 220 farmers in passing a GAP audit, helping them increase access to local and regional food markets. This fsop proposal would allow cfsa to broaden the scope of our successful program by adding a train-the-trainer component with local community organizations, enabling US to coordinate our efforts to address the needs of more farmers. Through this project, 990 farmers will increase their food safety risk management knowledge by attending a field day, workshop, or webinar. Ninety of those farmers will complete training that meets the fsma produce safety rule requirements. Ninety-six will receive direct technical assistance tailored to their specific goals and needs. We anticipate that 500 will implement at least one food safety procedure, 60 will be 'audit ready,' and 30 will obtain GAP certification.