Carolina Farm Credit holds luncheon to recognize grant recipients

From Carolina Farm Credit:

Carolina Farm Credit Holds Luncheon to Recognize Grant Recipients

STATESVILLE, NC –Veterans Healing Farm was recently awarded a Corporate Mission Fund Grant from Carolina Farm Credit. It plans to use the funds to purchase and install storage shed to house equipment. The mission of the Veterans Healing Farm is to aid veterans reintegrating into civilian life by growing produce, raising farm animals, and conducting seminars on holistic health and sustainability.
A luncheon was held in Statesville, N.C., to honor and bring awareness to the efforts made by the recipients of Carolina Farm Credit’s Corporate Mission Fund Grants to stimulate the local agricultural economy. Local officials and members from the communities of the recipients, as well as members from the board of directors of Carolina Farm Credit attended the luncheon.

Carolina Farm Credit awarded $100,000 in grants and scholarships to 20 North Carolina organizations and 8 college students in late 2015. Over 70 organizations applied for the grants from all over the 54 counties that Carolina Farm Credit serves. Grants were awarded for a number of reasons from funds to purchase livestock to funding for advertisement expenditures.
A special drawing was held during the event, to award an additional $1,000 to one of the groups in attendance. The winner for the drawing was Sun Valley High School FFA, who plans to use the additional funds to further their project. To learn more about the Corporate Mission Fund and to apply visit CarolinFarmCredit.com.

“We were very pleased with the turnout and positive feedback the luncheon received. Several of the attendees told me they were glad they came because they don’t often receive public recognition for their work.  Programs such as our Corporate Mission Fund allow us another way to give back to the local communities in which we work and live.”—Vance C. Dalton, Jr., Carolina Farm Credit CEO.

Grant recipients:
Agribusiness Henderson County: funds awarded to develop a website to help with product marketing.
Ashe County Cooperative Extension: grant awarded to purchase a trailer and scales to allow producers to weigh their animals.
Back In The Woods Again(Bennett, NC): funds awarded to provide adaptive hunting equipment for participants.
Carrboro Farmers’ Market (Carrboro, NC): grant awarded to support their Healthy Food Incentives; an outreach program targeted to low income families.  The program will match SNAP/EBT moneys spent up to $5, allowing families to purchase more locally grown food from the market.
Cove Creek Gardens (Greensboro, NC): funds awarded to finance courses that offer hands-on field experience and conservation methods to students.
Eastern Randolph FFA (Ramseur, NC): funding given to construct small ruminant barn and hay storage facility.
Firsthand Foods (Durham, NC): funds awarded to implement a comprehensive labeling, reporting, and tracking system.
Foothills Farmers’ Market (Kings Mountain, NC): grant awarded to help establish the Downtown Kings Mountain Market, and build a base of community support.
The Hunger and Health Coalition (Boone, NC): funds awarded to purchase a trailer for transporting manure and other materials to garden to develop compost supply.
King Farmers’ Market (King, NC): funding given to support their SNAP/EBT Nutrition Outreach program, matching dollars spent by SNAP/EBT customers to increase the availability of quality foods.  This program will allow low income families the opportunity to buy more locally grown foods from the market.
Mountain Folk Farmers’ Market (Murphy, NC): funds awarded to promote farmers’ market via advertising and promotional events.
North Carolina Agri-Women (Mebane, NC): grant awarded to pay application fee to apply for non-profit status.  The organization represents and provides resources to women involved in every segment of North Carolina agriculture.
Polk County Schools (Columbus, NC): funds awarded to purchase raised bed mulch layering equipment for use in the classroom.
Praley Street Acre of Grace (Valdese, NC): funding given to purchase supplies to maintain, improve and increase community garden yield.
South Stokes FFA (Walnut Cove, NC):  funds awarded to purchase livestock showing equipment to allow students to show livestock on a local, regional, and state level.
Southern Alamance FFA (Graham, NC): grant awarded to construct a small ruminant barn on campus to advance student learning.
Sun Valley FFA (Monroe, NC): funds awarded to purchase and install a hydroponic system to produce fresh produce and herbs for local food banks and soup kitchens.
WNC Communities (Asheville, NC): funds awarded to equip the covered arena at the Mountain State Fair so the youth have a suitable place to show livestock.
Yadkin County Economic Development Partnership (Yadkinville, NC):  grant given to purchase a nine frame extractor and holding tank used in honey extracting.

Scholarship recipients:
From North Carolina A&T University: Rycal Blount, Nicholas Cobb, Lauren Blackwell, and Caleb Bryson.
From North Carolina State University: Christina Harvey, McKayla Newsome, Olin Austin, and Nicole Mauldin.

More information about the scholarship recipients can be found at CarolinaFarmCredit.com.
Carolina Farm Credit is a stockholder-owned cooperative providing financing to full and part-time farmers and agricultural-related businesses and also provides financing for the construction and purchase of homes in 54 counties through 34 branch offices.  Other financial services available are credit life insurance, appraisal services, leasing programs and financial planning.

For 100 years Farm Credit has been supporting rural communities and agriculture with reliable, consistent credit and financial services.
Carolina Farm Credit serves over 9,200 members with loans outstanding totaling more than $1.4 billion.  The association’s territory covers the western half of North Carolina, with branch offices located in Albemarle, Asheboro, Asheville, Boone, Browns Summit, Burnsville, Carthage, Concord, Conover, Ellerbe, Graham, Hendersonville, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lenoir, Lexington, Lincolnton, Monroe, Murphy, Pilot Mountain, Roxboro, Rural Hall, Salisbury, Shelby, Siler City, Sparta, Spindale, Statesville, Taylorsville, Wadesboro, Waynesville, Wilkesboro, Yadkinville, and Yanceyville.

Carolina Farm Credit was recognized as a 2015 Best Employer in North Carolina.  The list of the Best Employers in North Carolina was created by Business North Carolina, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) – NC State Council and Best Companies Group.