We are pleased to announce the start of two brand new agent positions in Randolph County. Both employees began on July 1 and are Randolph County natives. Sophie Farlow is our Local/Community Food Systems Agent while Isaac Madren is the Digital Literacy and Skills Agent. Isaac is making history because he is the first Digital Literacy and Skills Agent in North Carolina.
The need for a Local/Community Food Systems Agent became more apparent through the pandemic when food supplies and resources became more scarce. Sophie will be working with farmers, local food banks, farmers markets, and community agencies to bring about more connections with locally grown and sourced foods. She will be coordinating the activity of the Visit NC Farms app which was developed by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The Visit NC Farms app connects millions of North Carolina residents and visitors to farmers and local food – one community at a time. Sophie will play a vital role in the future Food Hub that will be located in the Farm, Food, and Family Education Center (F3EC) coming soon. She is a graduate of Randleman High School, a 2020 North Carolina State University graduate with a bachelors in Extension Education, and obtained her Masters in Agricultural and Extension Education in 2022. She served as an intern in the Randolph County office in the summer of 2019.
