CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If you’re having trouble finding certain fresh foods in stores, there’s a new app that can connect you straight to a local North Carolina farm near you that could be selling what you’re looking for.
“We are very excited for a lot of farmers,” said agribusiness developer Annie Baggett.
Baggett says the Visit NC Farms app can connect growers directly to the community.
“Our media marketing specialist calls this the ‘Amazon’ of agriculture in north Carolina,” Baggett said.
Opening the app, you can set which location you’d like to see farms in and what type of farm product or experience you’re looking for.
“Hop on the app, push any button [like] farms and fisheries, and you’ll see a pinpoint map,” Baggett said.
The filter option will show farms that offer exactly what you want.
“You can say hey, I want to know what farm stands are available,” Baggett said. “You can push on farm stands. You can also say hey, I’m interested in strawberries, what strawberry growers are open?”
Baggett says the app was originally intended for tourists to locate farms, but the coronavirus changed that.
“None of us would’ve ever dreamed of a pandemic,” Baggett said. “Truly was an opportunity to shift the priority of the app to more of that localized piece.”
Now, not only can the community find farmers, but farmers can send push alerts letting people about products or pop up stands.
“Unfortunately, we’re only in about a 3rd of the communities right now with this product,” Baggett said.
That could change, though. Baggett says app downloads went up 41% in the month of March, and user engagement up 52%.
Baggett has seen communities without the app miss out on customers.
“They’re hopping on to the farms that are closest to them, and reaching out to communities across border,” Baggett said. "So that’s an incentive to communities getting on board.”
Baggett says Union, Lincoln, Gaston, and Rowan counties are currently under consideration for the app.
If you’d like to see the app in your community you can vote on the information section in the app, or reach out to local county leadership.
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