Foothills Food Hub opens store in Marion selling locally produced food, including meat and veggies
Marion now has a store where customers can browse among a selection of meat, produce, eggs, breads, frozen goods and other food items, all of which are produced by North Carolina farmers and growers.
The Foothills Food Hub Store opened for business on July 28. The new store can be found at the Food Hub, which is housed in the former Badcock Furniture building at 1930 U.S. Hwy. 70 East, Marion.
McDowell LFAC Executive Director Grace Fitzgerald arranges the selection of meats in the freezer.
The Foothills Food Hub is a program of McDowell Local Food Advisory Council, a nonprofit that works to improve community wellness by ensuring local food is affordable and accessible. The program supports farmers and feeds the community through a network of local farmers and producers, and local partner organizations.
Last year, the Food Hub opened its new location at 1930 U.S. Hwy. 70 East and launched an online marketplace to shop for local food that comes straight from local farms and producers in the region, according to previous story by The McDowell News.
“We prioritize McDowell farmers and also offer goods that can't be found in McDowell County,” McDowell LFAC Executive Director Grace Fitzgerald said last year.
Fresh produce like onions and cantaloupes are sold at the Foothills Food Hub Store in Marion.
Now, the new Food Hub store is ready for customers in person. The store is open on Tuesdays from noon to 6 p.m.
“This is the initial phase of testing out the community feedback and demand for locally produced goods,” Fitzgerald said. “We have fresh produce, dairy, meats, eggs, honey, dry goods, frozen goods and more.”
The Historic Marion Tailgate Market held on Saturdays in downtown Marion is also a program by the Food Hub. Fitzgerald said both programs use slightly different farmers and growers for their respective products.
The Foothills Food Hub Store opened on Tuesday, July 28. The new store can be found at the Food Hub, which is housed in the former Badcock Furniture building at 1930 U.S. 70 East.
“It’s not exactly the same farmers,” she said. “The Foothills Food Hub works with the network of growers and farmers. We are working with about 50 to 60 on a regular basis.”
At the new store, people can find all kinds of food products. In the freezer are meat products from McDowell and surrounding counties. Producers include Clark Farms in McDowell County and J4 Cattle Company in Morganton. The store carries chicken from Joyce Farms in Winston-Salem.
“People absolutely love the Joyce Farms chicken,” Fitzgerald said. “They say it has a great flavor.”
Another freezer has a selection of frozen foods that are not meat. “Everything here is made in North Carolina,” Fitzgerald said as she looked in that freezer.
That includes frozen burritos, frozen chicken pies and frozen pizza. The store carries ice cream from Riverbend Creamery and Lee’s One Fortune Farm.
Another section carries fresh produce like onions and cantaloupes.
“We have a great selection of organic products,” Fitzgerald said. Producers include TendWell Farm in Old Fort, which farms on land across McDowell County.
McDowell LFAC Executive Director Grace Fitzgerald arranges the apples and tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables at the Foothills Food Hub Store.
The Foothills Food Hub Store carries bread products from Four Sisters Bakery in Black Mountain. It has a supply of sauces, cornmeal, grits, salsa and honey from local or area producers.
Since the store opened, the feedback from the community has been positive, Fitzgerald said.
A selection of fresh vegetables includes products from various local growers.
“We’ve had a steady flow of customers and a lot of excitement, and a lot of people have been excited to see it grow,” she said.
Fitzgerald said the staff has received recommendations about different types of products to sell. “We will continue to welcome customers to come here and let us know what they would like to see,” she added.
The Foothills Food Hub Store offers online ordering for pickup and delivery.
The store carries bread products from Four Sisters Bakery in Black Mountain.
The new store is another step in continuing the mission of the Foothills Food Hub which is connecting, coordinating and strengthening the local food system.
Fitzgerald added that the store aims store to highlight the growers and farmers from McDowell County and surrounding counties “to show just how much produce and food is being grown and is being produced here.”
For more information, visit the Foothills Food Hub Facebook page.
The Foothills Food Hub Store has a supply of sauces, cornmeal, grits, salsa and honey from local or area producers.
