Press Media

Spectrum News 1 conducted a human interest story on CFT Market, including our pop-up farm stand on Fridays, with features from local residents.

Shirley Hathcock, who lives in the Hoskins neighborhood, welcomes the farm stand, which is closer than the grocery store.

“It’s closer for me, and it’s harder for me to get out and do things,” Hathcock said.

Her neighborhood is in a food desert. The USDA defines it as an area with 20% poverty rate where a grocery store is more than a mile for a third of the population.

The farm stand aims to help with food insecurity.

“This pop-up is accessible, walking distance for a lot of people, so yeah it’s amazing,” Hoskins Mill HOA President Chris Smalls said.

Reporter Estephany Escobar interviewed CEO Zack Wyatt and Executive Chef Ryan Forte in the Market’s commercial kitchen.

“We’re also trying to utilize this entire facility to jumpstart revenue for our entire regional farming community:

Our executive chef, Ryan Forte, was featured in Tasting Table as an expert source on 13 Ways to Add More Flavor to Roasted Vegetables!

He recommends:

• Adding coconut oil for sweetness
• Finishing the vegetables off with freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Add fennel for an unexpected pop of flavor
• Add a char from the grill
• Use fresh herbs in place of dried, whenever possible

To read more, visit: https://www.tastingtable.com/1631762/ways-add-flavor-roasted-vegetables/

Our Director of Urban Agriculture, Mariah Henry, was featured in Martha Stewart as an expert source on 8 Plants You Should Never Grow Next to Corn.

“Corn can grow anywhere from 5 to 12 feet tall, in which they provide a great amount of shade,” says Mariah Henry, director of urban agriculture at Carolina Farm Trust. “Avoid planting crops like broccoli that require full sun.” Beets, garlic, and onions make optimal companions when growing broccoli.

To read more, visit: https://www.marthastewart.com/what-not-to-plant-with-corn-8681309

Our executive pastry chef, Leressa Rucker, was featured on WBTV’s QC at 3 to craft a beautiful vanilla bean grilled pound cake with local peaches.

This cake uses:

• Caramelized peaches
• Bourbon caramel sauce
• Rum Vanilla bean Chantilly cream
• Pecan praline

She is implementing a new preservative-free pastry program using locally sourced ingredients in our new commercial kitchen at CFT Market, located at 511 S. Hoskins Rd. in Charlotte. This program partners with several local farmers to provide ingredients.

To watch Leressa’s feature, visit: https://qclife.wbtv.com/2024/07/30/making-vanilla-bean-grilled-pound-cake-with-carolina-farm-trust/

Mariah Henry, our Director of Urban Agriculture at Carolina Farm Trust, was featured in Martha Stewart as an expert source on how to harvest sunflower seeds.

She advises the following steps:

Step 1: Scout for Mature Flower Heads

First, you will need to identify flower heads that are mature and ready to harvest. “Mature flower heads will have desiccated [dried] petals that are crispy and fall off easily,” says Mariah Henry, director of urban agriculture at the Carolina Farm Trust. To determine the maturity of a flower head, look on the backside for yellowish-brown spots. A flowerhead drooping from the weight of its seeds is another sure sign that it is ready for harvesting.

Step 2: Evaluate the Seeds

Check to see how dense the seeds are packed, says Henry. Loose seeds might fall

Director of Urban Agriculture, Mariah Henry, was featured in Martha Stewart as an expert source on how to plant sweet potatoes. She says:

“Sweet potatoes grow best when they are spaced 12 to 18 inches apart. Mariah Henry, director of urban agriculture at Carolina Farm Trust, suggests the following steps for planting:

1. Dig a hole 4 to 6 inches deep.
2. Place one slip in the hole with the leaves above ground.
3. Fill in the hole with soil, making sure all the roots are fully covered.
4. Continue with all remaining slips.
5. Give each plant a healthy drink of water after transplanting.

When your plant reaches about 6 inches tall, Henry recommends “hilling” the potatoes. “Soil is gathered and piled on top of the base of the sweet potato plant,” she says. “This process encourages tuber growth, which produces potatoes.”

Homes & Gardens featured our Urban Director of Agriculture, Mariah Henry, as an expert source on watering a vegetable garden.

“Mariah Henry, director of Urban Agriculture at Carolina Farm Trust, claims ‘5am-7am is best’ and recommends avoiding the afternoon during the hotter months ‘to increase water retention’.

She says: ‘When it’s warmer outside the water can evaporate and reduce the plants’ ability to absorb water.’ It would be a garden watering mistake to head out with the hose or switch the sprinklers on in the middle of the day as plants won’t gain as much at the hottest times.

‘If you miss a morning watering, don’t fret. Pick back up in the early evening,’ says Mariah Henry. However, one added risk of watering later in the

https://www.pbs.org/video/aldersgate-urban-farm-nv0pen/

At Aldersgate Senior Living Community, the residents aren’t just growing older. They’re growing food – for their surrounding community. On a seven acre patch of land in East Charlotte, the retirees from Aldersgate are working the soil, along with volunteers from Carolina Farm Trust and neighbors in Windsor Park, to provide fresh-from-the-farm produce to local families.