Firsthand Foods

We're honored to be named on this incredible list of Female-Founded B Corp brands! Thanks to Audrey Sellers for introducing us to other like-minded companies creating change in the food and beverage industry.

Last week’s snow couldn’t keep us from the NC Cattlemen’s Association annual meeting! Gerry had a wonderful time connecting with farmers in our network and friends in the beef industry. The key note speakers were excellent and prompted important conversations about pasture management practices and the role of beef production in an era of climate change. There was also discussion of the cyclical nature of beef markets and how history shows that high prices (like the ones we are seeing now) are always followed by a correction. It was great seeing some of our beef producers, including Chad & Kim Woods, Johnny Rogers, Matt Poore, and our friends at NC Choices! But the highlight of the day was seeing Kim Woods of Springcrest Farm (one of our beef producers!) receive the Forage Enthusiast Award from the NC Forage & Grasslands Council. In addition to running a top notch grazing program with her husband, Chad, on their own farm, Kim champions the cause as an NC Cooperative Extension agent, providing educational opportunities to livestock and forage producers in Person and Granville counties. Congrats, Kim! It was a fantastic meeting and we’re already looking forward to next year’s!

Food hub highlight! Farmer Foodshare is a Triangle-based food hub whose mission is to increase access to fresh, local food for all and to support the viability of marginalized NC farmers to create an equitable food system. Farmer Foodshare sources fresh food year-round from small and mid-scale North Carolina farms and producers (like us!) and sells it wholesale to a host of organizations — schools and universities, grocery stores and restaurants, and hunger relief agencies. This creates new revenue opportunities for small farms that otherwise would not grow in sufficient volume to sell directly to large institutions. Farmer Foodshare partners with dozens of community-based organizations, schools, and childcare centers serving diverse communities throughout the Triangle. Together, they’re working to ensure that everyone has access to fresh, nutritious food. Not only do we partner with Farmer Foodshare, but we get to collaborate with them and nine other food hubs as members of the NC Food Hub Collaborative. You can also hang out with the awesome folks at Farmer Foodshare as a volunteer! They’re currently looking for a new Executive Director too, so spread the word! Give them a follow to learn more about volunteer opportunities and info on the ED position. We’re so glad to have food hub friends like Farmer Foodshare!

Farm visit! Last week we had the pleasure of visiting with Daniel Stewart in Eden, NC. Y’all are probably familiar with one of our farmers, Zizzy Osborne from Bar-O-Cattle Company. Well Zizzy is about to retire (congrats!) and Daniel will be taking over Zizzy’s cattle herd. Of course we’ll miss having Zizzy in our network, but we’re so pleased that he’s handing over the reins to Daniel. Daniel is no stranger to farming. He’s the third generation in his family to raise beef cattle on pasture in North Carolina and he’s been working with Zizzy for many years. Daniel's cattle will fill an important role in our supply chain next year as they reach maturity and are harvested in the spring - a time when it's typically difficult to source beef in the south.?Daniel’s helping us make sure we have a consistent supply of beef year-round and we’re excited to be working with him!

Want to learn more about how Firsthand Foods got its start 14 years ago? Then you’ve got to check out the OneTenHundred podcast with Eric Boggs ?? of RevBoss! Tina and Eric are old friends from their days together as MBA students at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. The episode is aptly named, “Lessons from the Sausage Wagon.” Tune in to hear Tina and Eric discuss how an idea turned into a business overnight, the kind of challenges Firsthand Foods faces, and Tina’s secret nickname. ??

They say all good things must come to an end and we’re feeling it this week as we say goodbye to our dear friend and Beef Network Coordinator, Dean Askew. We’ve had the pleasure of working with Dean for the last seven years and he’s been a vital connection between our staff and our beef farmers. He’s incredibly knowledgeable about raising beef cattle on pasture and has forged long-lasting relationships with our producers. Dean has helped us develop our beef quality improvement program, refine our forage management and nutrition recommendations, and create systems for tracking and scheduling beef deliveries. If you’ve ever met Dean, you know that he’s a great guy. He’s been a delight to work with from day one and he’ll always be part of our Firsthand Foods family. Now that Gerry is on board as our Farm Network Coordinator and following in his footsteps, Dean can finally retire! At least from Firsthand Foods. :) Dean, thanks for seven wonderful years. Don’t be a stranger!

We started off 2025 by adding some new farmers to our network! Meet B. Ray Jeffers of B.R. Jeffers Farms LLC in Roxboro, NC! Ray is a 4th generation farmer raising heritage breed hogs outdoors on pasture and a North Carolina state representative! As a member of the Piedmont Progressive Farmers Cooperative, we met Ray at a Farmer Foodshare meeting while we were discussing the role of food hubs in getting farmers' products to market. We got to chatting, learned Ray raised hogs, visited the farm, and the rest is history! We’ve gotten two hogs from Ray so far and look forward to many more. We’re excited to be working with you, Ray!

We’d like to introduce you to our newest team member and Farm Network Coordinator, Gerry Cohn! Gerry has an extensive and impressive background in farmer technical assistance. For over 15 years, he was the East Division Manager with Organic Valley where he worked with hundreds of family farms in North Carolina and across the country. Gerry has spent his career recruiting new farmers, facilitating peer-to-peer learning, providing education and technical assistance, and assuring compliance with cooperative standards. He’s worked with a variety of North Carolina family farmers, connecting them with resources and state/local service providers throughout the state, so he’s going to fit right in! Gerry’s excited to join the Firsthand Foods team! “I love getting to know farm families. They all have their unique stories and different ways of going about their business and producing livestock.?And I've been a long time Firsthand Foods customer myself, and I love the way the company ties together?interests of the whole supply chain - farmers, processors, retailers, restaurants, consumers - all the pieces of the puzzle have to fit together to make it work for everyone.” When Gerry’s not making friends with farmers, he’s cooking, baking all kinds of things, and cleverly creating meals out of what's available in the refrigerator and pantry. Gerry also loves hiking, biking, yoga, and swimming. We’re thrilled to welcome you to the Firsthand fam, Gerry!

In honor of our dedicated customers and their support in 2024, we’re making a donation to the NC Hospitality Workers Relief Fund. Managed by the North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association (NCRLA), this fund is providing much needed assistance to restaurant and hotel employees in Western North Carolina who have been devastated by Hurricane Helene. The NCRLA has distributed close to $350,000 to 1,150 restaurant and hotel employees. We’re grateful to be able to contribute to this vital funding to help restore our beloved WNC food community.

We started off the week by getting into the holiday spirit! Our team of elves spent Monday afternoon putting our annual holiday cards together. It's our little way of saying thank you to our customers, processors, distributors, and farmers who support us all year round and sharing some of our 2024 achievements. ??