Together with the NC Cooperative Extension and Downtown Sanford, Inc., the City of Sanford is excited to break ground on the Sanford Agricultural Marketplace later this fall.
In 2022, the City of Sanford allocated funds made available by the American Rescue Plan Act to the marketplace, which will serve as an anchor point to the Sanford Central Green, envisioned as an innovative community greenspace that can transform downtown and East Sanford.
The marketplace will also serve as a community epicenter for celebrating Lee County’s rich agricultural heritage while addressing food insecurity and improving community infrastructure.
Goals for the Sanford Agricultural Marketplace include:
- Help growers and producers from the Sandhills region expand their consumer base and increase profitability.
- Address food insecurity and food accessibility issues for our most vulnerable downtown residents.
- Create economic opportunities for food entrepreneurship and business innovators.
- Provide space for nutrition education and community health and wellness initiatives.
- Serve as an entry point for the future Sanford Central Green.
- Revitalize and re-energize East Sanford.
The marketplace project relied on generous funding from both public and private partners. Sources include $505,000 from the Pilgrim’s Hometown Strong Grant, $900,000 from the Rural Transformation Grant Fund, $214,000 from the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund, and $50,000 from Lee County Farm Bureau.
Bringing the project to the Ruby and Ernest McSwain Worthy Lands Trust was an obvious step for Bill Stone, director of the N.C. Cooperative Extension Center in Lee County. The trust has funded more than $2 million in Extension and scholarship endowments benefitting Lee County students attending NC State. It also made a significant contribution to help build the local Extension center, which bears the McSwain name.
“Ms. Ruby was a very special lady, extremely generous, and an individual who donated a lot of money to agricultural and educational causes,” says Stone. In line with Ruby McSwain’s legacy and the trust’s previous investments in Lee County, the trust gifted $1 million to the project.
Learn more about the Ruby and Ernest McSwain Worthy Lands Trust and the key role the Sanford Agricultural Marketplace will play in Sanford’s future on the NCSU State Extension website.
Follow the progress of the Sanford Agricultural Marketplace on our projects hub.