Meet PCG Member – Tina Prevatte: The Center of the Farmers Network Hub

For PCG Professional Member Tina Prevatte Levy, it’s all about making the good, sustainable connections. Since 2010, she’s been doing just that at Firsthand Foods – a food hub connecting farmers to grocery stores, home delivery businesses, and restaurants.

“Essentially we are creating market access for small-scale family farms that are raising animals outdoor on pasture,” says Tina, 43. “We’re buying whole animals from those farmers so they can just focus on farming, being good stewards of their land and raising the animals.”

Durham-based Firsthand Foods harnesses urban areas’ purchasing power and interest in supporting local and sustainable businesses and connects them to rural communities, Tina says.

“The idea of sending these food dollars from the Triangle to Eastern North Carolina, where I am from and a place I care a lot about, was the point of it for me. Firsthand Foods is creating connections and access for farmers who are often not at the table or part of the conversation around local foods and connecting to high-end chefs.”

Tina grew up in Lumberton, studied Women’s Studies as well as Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California / Santa Cruz and at UC-Berkeley. She moved to Durham with her husband Josh Levy in 2010.

When Tina and Firsthand Foods cofounder Jennifer Curtis met in 2008, Tina was working on a Master of Business Administration and Master of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Jennifer was the director of NC Choices, a project through the Center for Environmental Farming Systems. Tina’s summer internship program through the Center for Sustainable Enterprise connected her with Jennifer.

Their goal was to find a way to support animal farmers and slaughterhouses. Through research, they realized a business was needed to connect farmers to the market.

When the pair presented their findings to the group – a business with a 25% margin – they were met with negativity. The group’s consensus: “Oh no, you can’t float a business with that low of a margin. You need 55% margins to even think about this.”

Tina remembers catching Jennifer’s eye, both knowing they wouldn’t give up on the idea.

Despite the naysayers, they were hooked on the idea, Tina says. They both signed up for a year-long course at UNC-Chapel Hill to receive coaching and write a business plan.

Ten years later, Firsthand Foods today works with more than 35 North Carolina farmers: All the pork farmers are part of the North Carolina Natural Hog Growers Association in Eastern NC, all their beef producers are in the Piedmont, and one sheep producer, Back Creek Angus, is in Rowan County.

Firsthand Foods takes ownership of the animal once it arrives at one of three slaughterhouses: Acre Station Meat Farm in Pinetown, Chaudhry’s Halal Meat in Siler City, and Piedmont Custom Meats in Gibsonville. Once the meat is processed, Firsthand Foods sells the pork, beef, and lamb to institutional dining halls, restaurants and specialty retailers and grocery stores.

Tina joined PCG in 2015, one of the Guild’s inaugural members. She was drawn to PCG’s supportive community.

Although she’s attended PCG Symposiums many times, she’s learned the most from the dialogue on the private Members Only Facebook group. Members talk about dealing with COVID-19 and racism. They ask real questions about how to handle current issues and situations.

“PCG has given me a view into the challenges that chefs face, the struggles and the ways they can support each other and collaborate. It’s meaningful dialogue.”

Last year, Firsthand Foods received the 2019 Business of the Year from Carolina Farm Stewardship Association and 2019 Distinguished Business in Sustainability Award from the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Center for Sustainable Enterprise.

Firsthand Foods has directed more than $6.8 million to family farmers in North Carolina and $3.6 million to small-scale slaughterhouses in the past 10 years. They’ve done this by building alliances with farmers – supporting and building relationships; being colleagues, not competitors.

“We’ve been able to build our business while maintaining respect and camaraderie with independent farmers who are selling direct and who are going at it on their own,” Tina says. “We were here to grow the market and expand the market.”

“We’ve spent 10 years building the market for local pasture-raised meat here in The Triangle,” Tina says.

But Firsthand’s reach now extends way beyond The Triangle. In the Charlotte Metro area, PCG Professional Member Erin Bradley is Freshlist’s farm coordinator and purchaser. She’s been working with Firsthand foods since 2018 when Freshlist needed lamb racks for fellow member Vince Giancarlo at Zeppelin.

“This initial meeting has blossomed into a full-scale partnership that allows Freshlist to consistently carry meats raised by NC farmers to both our chef and home customers,” Erin says. “We know Tina and Jennifer are always there with a high quality meat that takes away some of the guesswork of using local proteins,” Erin says. “By building out a network of farms, they are able to consistently offer products without shortage which is typically the scariest part of a locally sourced menu for both chefs and owners.”

As a woman in a male-dominated field, Tina’s collaboration with another female entrepreneur provides inspiration to Erin.

“They exemplify every part of the PCG from their commitment to North Carolina producers to creating a network of customers all across the Piedmont,” Erin explains.

And that’s exactly what Tina set out to do.  “I like the idea of being deeper in community with chefs, farmers and purveyors,” Tina explains.

“Let’s be a community in supporting each other and lifting each other up.”

Profile written by Vanessa Infanzon