Strengthening the Economy of Southeastern NC, Together
Men and Women United for Youth and Families
The first thing you notice when you visit Men and Women United for Youth and Families (MWUYF) is that it’s hard to find a parking spot. This nonprofit is busy.
Youth run in and out of the building, loading boxes of fresh local produce into refrigerated delivery trucks. Farmers stop by to pick up checks for the fresh fruits and vegetables they’ve sold to MWUYF. Some staff are at their computers, helping constituents build resumes and fill out job applications. Others are on the phone, fielding calls from local organizations that are hosting MWUYF youth as paid interns.
“We help anyone in our community who needs work, find work,” says Randolph Keaton, MWUYF’s executive director. “There’s a place for everyone here.”
It’s clear that by “here,” Randolph doesn’t just mean MWUYF. He means the entire tri-county area the organization serves in southeastern North Carolina. And MWUYF isn’t just focused on helping people find jobs: their work aims to strengthen the entire regional economy now and for years to come.
“We help anyone in our community who needs work, find work. There’s a place for everyone here.”
— Randolph Keaton, Men and Women United for Youth and Families
From internet access point to thriving nonprofit
In 2006, Randolph set up MWUYF in the small community of Delco, NC — 30 minutes east of but a world away from the populous city of Wilmington — with a simple purpose: for residents to have a place to access the internet. As the global economy became internet-dependent, Randolph didn’t want his rural, largely agricultural community to be left behind.
Fast-forward almost 20 years, and MWUYF is still working to ensure the tri-county region of Bladen, Brunswick and Columbus Counties is included in the economy. But instead of connecting residents to the internet, MWUYF connects residents to each other.
MWUYF sees every resident as a potential partner who can help the region thrive.
Connecting farmers, youth, restaurateurs, vacationers and residents
Margaret Shelton grows more than 200 varieties of herbs on her farm in Brunswick County.
The land has been in her family since the 1800s, and Margaret, a former marine biologist, began farming in the 1980s because she wanted to spend more time with her young children. She initially sold plants, but plants only brought income for a few months out of the year, so she started selling herbs.
MWUYF is one of Margaret’s main buyers, helping her sustain revenue from the sale of herbs year-round.
Each week, Margaret and her staff curate herbs for MWUYF to distribute through various farm-to-table food initiatives.
One such initiative is Vacation Vittles, a youth-led program that delivers fresh food sourced from local farmers to visiting vacationers on beaches throughout southeastern NC during the summer.
MWUYF also sells Margaret’s herbs to popular restaurants in Wilmington, where restaurateurs can market farm-to-table food to attract eager patrons.
In addition to supplying vacationers and restaurants, who are often in New Hanover County, MWUYF also operates programs to ensure residents in Bladen, Brunswick and Columbus Counties have access to the food they need to stay healthy.
Through the state’s Healthy Opportunities Pilot, for example, MWUYF provides weekly deliveries of fresh produce and shelf-staple food to residents who participate in Medicaid and have two or more social determinants of health issues (for example, food insecurity, housing challenges, lack of transportation).
Through their Community-Supported Agriculture program, MWUYF delivers an average of 250, 10- to 12-pound bags of fresh produce bags weekly, free of charge, to senior centers, daycare centers and households with low income.
And through partnerships with food pantries, MWUYF distributes locally-sourced, fresh, healthy food to any resident who needs it.
These programs are interconnected. They all support people’s health and boost the local economy. And, taken together, it’s hard to find someone in the tri-county region who doesn’t benefit, from farmers to business owners to senior citizens to children.
MWUYF’s Kimberly Howell hugs farmer Margaret Shelton. MWUYF buys Shelton’s herbs to distribute to restaurants and residents. Photo by Cornell Watson
Farmer Chris Dean harvests herbs at Shelton Herb Farm for MWUYF to distribute. Photo by Cornell Watson
Youth ambassadors assemble boxes of produce at the MWUYF Food Hub with the help of Program Manager Kim Howell. Photo by Cornell Watson
Produce bags ready for delivery to residents of Bladen, Brunswick and Columbus Counties. Photo by Cornell Watson
Youth lead the work
D’Ante Grovner’s mom first heard about MWUYF through the Bladen County Newsletter. She forwarded it to her son, who was looking for something to keep him busy after school and during the summer.
D’Ante joined MWUYF’s program Youth Ambassadors for a Better Community, which describes itself as “a mission-based youth leadership group.”
The youth group is involved in almost all of the work happening at MWUYF. They help pick up food from local farms. They aggregate the produce at MWUYF’s Food Hub. They load the food boxes into delivery trucks. They assist with deliveries. They sell food at farmers’ markets. They grow food in community gardens. They even lead the entire Vacation Vittles delivery program, with assistance from MWUYF staff.
“This is a place where folks can contribute to their own success,” says Randolph. “Growing food vs. receiving food? That’s more in line with what a successful community looks like.”
Some of the youth are paid MWUYF interns, positions for which they must apply and interview. Others work there to satisfy community service requirements for getting into trouble at school or in the community. Some come as volunteers, simply seeking a social outlet and purpose in an area where there is little else to keep them busy.
Regardless of their route to the organization, every youth that walks through the door of MWUYF is considered a youth ambassador and is taken seriously.
“When I go to work, I expect to be treated like a child by adults. But here, they treated me like an adult from the beginning,” says D’Ante. “They thrust me into positions where I’d have to take on an adult role. It helped me progress personally but also prepared me for college and future jobs.”
Through MWUYF, D’Ante gained experience in public speaking, communication and time management, skills he uses daily as a college student at NC State, where he is studying mechanical engineering.
D’Ante and his fellow youth ambassadors have also traveled the country to represent MWUYF at conferences, connecting with people across the globe on issues from food security to environmental justice. One year, the group went to Washington, DC, to speak with their elected representatives and advocate for resources to support southeastern NC.
D’Ante is so invested in the work of MWUYF that he returned home from NC State for the summer to do a paid internship with the organization.
Full-circle
Quesheem McDuffie, who is in his early 20s, was a MWUYF youth ambassador at age 15 but then fell off the organization’s radar.
After a tough few years, “Mr. Randolph found me,” Quesheem says.
Quesheem started building greenhouses for farmers with Randolph, which led to a new interest in farming.
Now, Quesheem has two tunnels and a greenhouse where he grows his own food, which he sells to MWUYF.
The full-circle nature of Quesheem becoming a farmer, or of D’Ante returning to MWUYF for an internship, is not lost on Randolph. MWUYF is looking at the community’s economic sustainability from every angle.
“We have youth that are leading all these things now,” Randolph says. “And if we want to sustain our future, we have to engage the youth.”
For D’Ante, the reason MWUYF is so valuable is that it’s rooted in the community it serves.
“These are people that live here, people I know, people that are connected to the people I know,” he says. “I’m grateful they’re here in Delco so we can build the community together.”
Photo of Randolph Keaton courtesy of NC Rural Center.
More News + Stories
North Carolina Local News Lab Fund announces Press Forward Charlotte
This week, the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund announced the launch of Press Forward Charlotte, a new local chapter of Press Forward North Carolina. Press Forward Charlotte is a platform to fuel investment in Charlotte’s news and information ecosystem and spur collaboration among local funders. The launch comes as several local Charlotte funders make new…
Read MoreNorth Carolina Local News Lab Fund Takes Lead Role in Press Forward Local
Today the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund, the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, and Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation jointly announce they will be the home of the local affiliate of Press Forward, marking the further expansion of the state’s news and information funding coalition. Launched in 2023 by a coalition of national funders and…
Read MoreZSR Announces $19.9 Million in Funding for State-Level Systemic Change
During the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation’s (ZSR’s) November board meeting, ZSR’s Board of Trustees awarded 146 grants totaling $19.9 million to organizations working toward state-level systemic change in North Carolina. Of the 146 grants awarded, 107 (73%) are for general operating support, and 118 (81%) are for multiple years. ZSR’s State-Level Systemic Change Strategy supports…
Read More
English 
Español