Correction (March 28 11:05 p.m.): Due to a reporting error, an earlier version of this story incorrectly named the Gillings School of Global Public Health. This story has been updated to reflect this correction. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.

Alice Ammerman is the type of person who cooks cabbage for school fundraisers.

She’s done it often enough that she says she has a personal relationship with some local farmers.

“I would go to the market and the farmer would go home and say she was surprised some woman bought a case of cabbage for a fundraiser,” Ammerman said.

A professor at UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health, Ammerman is leading a food movement from her kitchen and her office. She has a big goal: building a new food system in North Carolina focused on local farmers and communities.

She leads one of 14 Gillings Innovation Labs, research projects sponsored by the school that investigate public health issues. Hers seeks to determine whether eating locally improves health and if local “food systems” can address health, environmental and economic issues.

The two-year project aims to document community food efforts across the state.

The project’s collaborators hope to use these experiences to determine “best practices” for local food and use those findings to support future policy efforts.

Of particular interest to Ammerman is the creation of local facilities and distribution methods that allow farmers to meet the growing demand for local, sustainable food in North Carolina.

“We need better distribution systems for farmers,” Ammerman said. “In Chapel Hill, some people say the demand is outstripping the supply, which keeps prices pretty high. But if we can get more farmers coming back into (local farming) there’s the potential we could do it more efficiently and make it more affordable.”

One of Ammerman’s projects is focused on helping black N.C. farmers keep their land in their families. Black farms have disappeared at a much faster rate than farms owned by other groups.

The project first sought to “give a voice” to these farmers in North Carolina through interviews and photo essays shot and compiled by the farmers themselves.

Project leaders hope to use the results, presented at a recent community forum in Henderson, to develop strategies to strengthen black farm ownership and get more young people interested in farming.

Farms in the age of plenty

Ammerman’s projects address a disparity in today’s farming: Modern agriculture means cheaper food for customers, but most farmers don’t reap the benefits.

“The profitability for the farmer is very minimal in these (modern) systems. A farmer gets about 25 cents of the food dollar you spend,” said Jennifer Curtis, director of N.C. Choices, which helps small meat producers sell their products.

Though 84 percent of North Carolina’s farms are family-owned, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, most are contracted to large distributors who control prices and, therefore, farmers’ income.

“We’ve gotten to the point where everything is built for the really huge farms,” Ammerman said.

Access to sustainable food

There is a second and rather counterintuitive problem Ammerman hopes to address: Because prices tend to be higher, many low-income and rural communities don’t have access to sustainable food or to local or organic alternatives.

Some urban and rural populations experience “food insecurity,” where little or no fresh food is available or where people cannot afford to buy fresh food. In North Carolina, children and Latino immigrant communities have been identified as having particularly high rates of food insecurity.

“The people who can afford it the least tend to get the least healthy food,” Ammerman said.

The result is that food issues, and the possible solutions to them, tend to be seen as boutique issues that are only relevant to wealthy people. The evidence suggests, however, that this is not the case.

“Thirteen percent of North Carolina households are considered food insecure, which means they don’t have enough food to lead active, healthy lifestyles,” Curtis said.

“Good food needs to be accessible to everyone, regardless of your wealth. And right now it’s not.”

Ammerman’s research looks at the impact of local food on three areas:

Economy

The modern food system produces lots of cheap food, but it also makes it difficult for small, local farmers to enter the market. They have few places to get their food processed so it can be sold to stores, restaurants and cafeterias.

New approach: Ammerman’s project is trying to create a network of “processing facilities” where local farmers can take their products. There are about 30 such facilities in the state currently. The initiative seeks to fund new facilities in places such as Warren County and create a statewide network.

Health

A dollar can buy 1,200 calories of potato chips and 875 calories of soda but just 250 calories of fresh fruit and vegetables. Low-income populations are the least likely to be able to access fresh and local food.

New approach: Ammerman’s research is working to enable the Carrboro Farmer’s Market to accept credit cards and Electronic Benefits Transfer, also known as food stamps. Organizers hope this would make the market more convenient and increase access for low-income consumers.

Environment

The production of food accounts for between 10 percent and 17 percent of U.S. annual carbon emissions, according to the USDA. Food production has other effects, too: on air quality, on water quality and on plant and animal life around farmland.

New approach: Eastern Carolina Organics, based in Pittsboro, helps organic farmers sell and distribute their products. ECO and similar groups offer the possibility of making environmentally friendly organic food accessible and, through scale, more affordable.

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.