Investing in North Carolina agriculture and access to healthy foods is an investment in better health and thereby lower healthcare costs.
That is why it was big news this week when the North Carolina Department of Agriculture (NCDA) announced it was doing just that.
With funds approved by the North Carolina General Assembly, the NCDA is investing nearly $2 million in the organization Ripe Revival’s food processing operations.
The funds are part of a more than $12.4 million investment North Carolina food manufacturers and processors.
On top of its food processing operations, Ripe Revival’s nonprofit arm operates multiple pay-what-you-can “grocery stores on wheels” that target communities with high instances of food insecurity.
“People can walk on the bus, have access to local and regional foods…and they can pay what they can,” said CEO Will Kornegay.
The group sources foods from its network of North Carolina farmers and prices them at 30 percent less than the grocery store. When customers check out, they can opt to pay what they can. Or they can opt out of payment.
“It really just gives people the opportunity to shop with dignity…and allows others to come on and pay it forward,” said Kornegay.
As farmers themselves, Ripe Revival has also found strong support and favor among North Carolina’s agricultural community as it helps brings their produce directly to consumers.
The organization aims to have four buses on the roads five days a week, serving 80 different sites in 20 different counties in North Carolina.
Direct-to-consumer, affordable produce, and strategic public investments in them, are on-the-ground solutions that can positively impact food insecurity in North Carolina, where about one in eight individuals face limited access to nutritionally adequate food.
It also positively impacts healthcare costs.
Lack of access to nutritious foods to meet your basic needs it is a major driver of healthcare spending. Heart disease and diabetes are two of the leading causes of death in North Carolina. Both are exacerbated by food insecurity, and the price tag to treat them is in the tens of billions.
Strategic, fiscally responsible investments from the North Carolina General Assembly that help farmers tackle food insecurity are also investments that will helps drive down healthcare costs for businesses, workers, and their families.
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