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It's no secret that local food cultures are evolving in North Carolina cities, including Greensboro and Winston-Salem, where industrial food-fatigued urban dwellers are rediscovering and rebuilding connections with their food and area farmers (yea, I helped let that cat out of the bag).

On the other side of that evolution are the rural farmers who seek to diversify their crops and improve distribution channels to ensure consistent demand for locally grown foods. In Rockingham County, farmers and concerned citizens have met since December to both figure out how to best educate residents about the benefits of local foods and  identify market and production gaps. The Local Foods Coalition has held two sustainability festivals in Reidsville and Eden and plans to hold a third event in Madison this month to help accomplish those goals. 

"I feel like that's just phenomenal progress," said Brenda Sutton, coalition coordinator and director of the county's extension service.

Now the coalition seeks non-profit status  and plans to create a distribution system modeled after Foothills Connect in Rutherford County. Farmers there sell their meat and produce to Charlotte area restaurants through online orders. One Charlotte chef has had so much success incorporating local produce that he's been invited to prepare his Southern cuisine (which include, curiously, a local "kudzu jelly") at a prestigious dining event in New York City this month. 

The Rockingham coalition also wants to bring under its umbrella the county's community kitchens in Reidsville and Madison, which are operated by the Business and Technology Center. The kitchens allow people to prepare value-added products, such as jellies, in a certified commercial kitchen. 

I'll have formal print and online stories in the coming days. The next coalition meeting will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 8 at the agricultural center in Reidsville.