Sustainability Archives - Carolina Farm Trust

28 Mar, 2025

The Power of Local Food Markets: How CFT Market is Changing the Game

By Siobhan Norbeck|2025-03-28T17:32:35+00:00March 28, 2025|Food Equity, Sustainability|0 Comments

Across the country, access to fresh, locally grown food remains a challenge for many communities. Food deserts—areas without easy access to grocery stores or fresh produce—are a growing issue, particularly in urban and low-income neighborhoods. Carolina Farm Trust (CFT) is working to change that. Through CFT Market, we’re building a local food system that supports farmers, strengthens communities, and ensures that fresh, nutritious food is accessible to everyone.

Why Local Food Markets Matter

Large-scale food distribution is broken. The current system prioritizes efficiency and cost-cutting, often at the expense of farmers and consumers. Small and mid-sized farmers struggle to compete with industrial agriculture, while consumers are left with limited choices, rising prices, and food that has traveled thousands of miles before reaching store shelves.

CFT Market is a response to this broken system. It’s more than a grocery store or food hub—it’s a community-driven

10 Mar, 2025

The Role of Urban Farms in Healing Communities

By Siobhan Norbeck|2025-03-10T13:37:25+00:00March 10, 2025|Food Equity, Sustainability|0 Comments

In cities across the country, neighborhoods are transforming vacant lots into thriving urban farms. These spaces do more than just grow food—they bring communities together, provide economic opportunities, and create green spaces that improve public health. Urban farming is a powerful tool for tackling food insecurity and revitalizing communities, and Carolina Farm Trust’s Urban Farm Network is leading the charge in North Carolina.

Why Urban Farms Matter

Food Access in Underserved Communities

Food deserts—neighborhoods with little to no access to fresh, affordable food—affect millions of Americans. The USDA estimates that over 40 million people in the U.S. live in food deserts, where convenience stores and fast food chains dominate, offering highly processed, unhealthy options. Urban farms break this cycle by growing fresh, nutritious produce right in the heart of these communities.

Economic Empowerment and Job Creation

Urban farms

4 Mar, 2025

The True Cost of Cheap Food: Who Pays the Price?

By Siobhan Norbeck|2025-03-04T14:58:08+00:00March 4, 2025|Food Equity, Sustainability|0 Comments

Walk into any grocery store, and you’ll find shelves stocked with inexpensive processed foods, bulk meats, and cheap produce. On the surface, this seems like a win—low prices mean more people can afford to eat, right? But the reality is much more complex. The true cost of cheap food goes far beyond what we see on our grocery receipts. The hidden costs—healthcare expenses, environmental destruction, and economic inequities—are devastating, and we are all paying the price.

Industrialized food systems prioritize efficiency and profit over sustainability, public health, and community resilience. At Carolina Farm Trust, we believe there’s a better way: investing in local food systems that nourish both people and the planet.

The Hidden Costs of Cheap Food

1. The Health Crisis: Processed and Industrialized Diets are Making Us Sick

Ultra-processed, mass-produced foods have led to a global health crisis. Diet-related diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and

25 Feb, 2025

The Intersection of Climate Change and Food Access: Why Local Food Systems Matter

By Siobhan Norbeck|2025-02-25T13:14:05+00:00February 25, 2025|Food Equity, Sustainability|0 Comments

Food security is no longer just about economic access—it’s about climate resilience. The way we grow, distribute, and consume food is deeply impacted by climate change. Rising temperatures, extreme weather, and soil degradation are making it harder for communities—especially those already marginalized—to access fresh, nutritious food.

But there’s a solution: strengthening regional food networks. By investing in local farms and sustainable food systems, we can create a more resilient, climate-adaptive future.

How Climate Change is Disrupting Food Access

Rising Temperatures & Crop Failure
Global temperatures are increasing, with 2023 marking one of the hottest years on record. Higher temperatures reduce crop yields, affecting staple foods like wheat, corn, and rice. Some studies predict that without intervention, corn yields could drop by 24% by 2030 due to extreme heat and drought conditions.

18 Feb, 2025

Rebuilding Food Sovereignty: How Local Farms Can Lead the Way

By Siobhan Norbeck|2025-02-18T18:44:08+00:00February 18, 2025|Food Equity, Mental Health, Sustainability|0 Comments

For too long, large-scale industrial agriculture has dominated the food landscape—prioritizing mass production, corporate profit, and monoculture farming at the expense of health, environment, and food security. But communities around the world are reclaiming their right to control their own food systems, a movement known as food sovereignty.

Food sovereignty is more than just access to food—it’s about who controls the land, the resources, and the decision-making process. It ensures that food is produced by and for the people in a way that is sustainable, culturally relevant, and economically fair. At Carolina Farm Trust (CFT), we are dedicated to rebuilding a farmer-driven, community-led food system that prioritizes people over profit.

What Is Food Sovereignty?

The term food sovereignty was first introduced by La Vía Campesina, an international movement of farmers, in 1996. Unlike food security, which focuses on

7 Feb, 2025

Beyond Hunger: The Hidden Impacts of Food Insecurity

By Siobhan Norbeck|2025-02-07T14:27:29+00:00February 7, 2025|Advocacy, economic burden, Food Equity, Food Systems, Health Impacts, Hunger, Mental Health, Sustainability|0 Comments

Food insecurity is a global crisis that reaches far beyond the empty stomachs it creates. It’s about the trauma of uncertainty—parents not knowing if they can provide dinner for their children, seniors rationing their meals to make ends meet, and individuals facing long-term physical and emotional harm. In 2023, the USDA reported that 47 million people in the U.S., including 14 million children, lived in food-insecure households. Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that 864 million people face hunger.

The effects of food insecurity ripple through every aspect of life, influencing health, mental well-being, and financial stability. Let’s dig deeper into the profound impacts of this crisis and explore the steps needed to create a fairer, healthier food system.

Health Impacts: Chronic Conditions and Poor Nutrition

Food insecurity doesn’t just mean fewer meals; it often means eating the

27 Jan, 2025

Reimagining Food Systems: A Path to Health, Sustainability, and Equity

By Siobhan Norbeck|2025-01-27T16:53:02+00:00January 27, 2025|Food Equity, Food Systems, Sustainability|0 Comments

The global food system is one of humanity’s greatest achievements and challenges. It feeds billions but often at the cost of environmental health, economic stability, and social equity. A recent groundbreaking study has revealed that transitioning to a sustainable food system could unlock $10 trillion in benefits annually. At Carolina Farm Trust, we believe these findings underscore the urgency to act now to reshape our food systems and ensure they benefit people, the planet, and future generations.

The Hidden Costs of Our Current Food System

Our existing food systems generate immense hidden costs. According to the Food System Economics Commission, these costs—including environmental degradation, health impacts, and biodiversity loss—amount to $15 trillion annually. Agriculture alone accounts for more than 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, pushing us toward a dangerous 2.7°C of warming

13 Jan, 2025

Let’s Talk About Food Systems: Building a Sustainable Future Together

By Siobhan Norbeck|2025-01-13T16:13:54+00:00January 13, 2025|Food Equity, Food Systems, Sustainability|0 Comments

The term “food system” encompasses the complex web of activities involving the production, processing, distribution, consumption, and disposal of food. Understanding this system is crucial, as it directly impacts our health, environment, and communities. At Carolina Farm Trust (CFT), we are dedicated to strengthening local food systems in the Carolinas, ensuring they are sustainable, equitable, and resilient.

Understanding Food Systems

A food system involves every step food takes from farm to table, including:

Production: Growing crops and raising livestock—the foundation of food systems. This stage includes everything from small family farms to large industrial operations.
Processing: Transforming raw ingredients into consumable products, such as turning wheat into bread or milk into cheese.
Distribution: Transporting food to markets, stores, or directly to consumers. This stage often involves complex logistics that impact food accessibility.

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