The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) – the group that supports and advocates for all100 counties in the state – in partnership with Wake County, the NC State Cooperative Extension and the NC State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, just showed the NCACC’s award-winning documentary “Resilience: Food for All” and hosted a panel discussion with elected officials and local leaders at the James B. Hunt Library in Raleigh.

The documentary spotlights food insecurity in the state and shows the effects on North Carolinians including residents from urban tech hubs to remote spaces of the mountains and the coast.

In Guilford County in recent years – especially during the pandemic – food insecurity has been a major topic, as it has been in many other counties across the state.

Chair of the Wake County Board of Commissioners Shinica Thomas stated in a press release about the showing of the film that there’s a plan in place to address that county’s food insecurity problem.

“Nearly 1 in 10 people face food insecurity in our county, many of whom are children.” Thomas stated. “Impactful events and partnerships like this are critical for the community’s engagement and education. Our innovative updated food security plan came from similar rigorous partnerships and conversations. We are also proud that the work Team Wake does each day, from farmland preservation to health and human services, helps ensure people have consistent access to nutritious foods.”

More than 300 people attended the documentary showing and the reception, where they also ate locally sourced food provided by Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.

The movie can be streamed for free from the following site:

https://www.theresiliencefilm.com/viewthefilm

There was also a panel discussion with representatives of the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle organization, Wake County government, the Black Farmers Market and North Carolina State University. The discussion focused on “local food system resilience” and on ways to increase access to healthy food in the state.

NCACC Executive Director Kevin Leonard said he wants his organization and others to continue partnering with North Carolina counties on this and other issues.

He called the event “amazing” and said it was a “creative opportunity for the Association to unite county commissioners and residents to engage in meaningful community discussions.”

Through the NCACC’s 100 Strong Productions film enterprise, the NCACC intends to continue to raise awareness of innovative solutions offered by the state’s counties.

Photo above courtesy of the NCACC.