FEASTDOWNEAST  is a grass-roots, non-profit organization. It is a result of the Southeastern North Carolina Food Systems (SENCFS) Program, which was co-founded in 2006 by Leslie Hossfeld, Public Sociology Program, University of North Carolina Wilmington, and Mac Legerton, Center for Community Action in Lumberton. The project started as an economic and community development initiative in response to the massive job loss and high poverty in Southeastern North Carolina. 

FEASTDOWNEAST has developed into a partnership of public and private institutions and agencies among eleven counties along and adjoining the I-74 corridor east of I-95. This region is the most ethnically diverse region in North Carolina and in Rural America; and it is also one of the three major regions of persistent poverty in North Carolina. 

FEASTDOWNEAST includes both rural and urban counties in order to maximize market opportunities and profits for farmers.