(704) 264-6088|zack@carolinafarmtrust.org
12 Dec, 2019

Carolina Farm Trust Secures Seed Funding for The Urban Farm at Aldersgate 

By |2022-03-09T17:08:14+00:00December 12, 2019|Comments Off on Carolina Farm Trust Secures Seed Funding for The Urban Farm at Aldersgate 

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]CHARLOTTE, NC, December 12, 2019: Carolina Farm Trust (CFT), a Charlotte based non-profit focused on rebuilding the regional food system from production to consumption, has received seed funding from Foundation For The Carolinas, Carver Pressley, Realtors, and other Corporate Donors for The Urban Farm at Aldersgate, located in east Charlotte.

Leased from the Aldersgate Retirement Community in April of 2018, the site will cultivate a variety of crops that meet the needs of the immediate community. Local residents will contribute, through feedback sessions with the farm, to diversified and sustainably grown produce, beginning in the spring of 2020.

“We feel the Carolina Farm Trust is an organization on the forefront of addressing food security, food access and eliminating the “class-system” of food in the Charlotte area. We are thrilled The Urban Farm at Aldersgate is coming to life,” said Suzanne Pugh, CEO of the Aldersgate Retirement Community.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”12px”][vc_single_image image=”4339″ img_size=”full” onclick=”link_image” css=”.vc_custom_1576174003724{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”][vc_empty_space height=”12px”][vc_column_text]The desire of the CFT is to create a living example of upward and economic mobility by creating a career opportunity for a qualified candidate  in building a regional food network. The initial round of funding will enable CFT to activate on the first step in The Urban Farm at Aldersgate master plan by hiring and training a new farm manager.

According to Brian Collier, Executive Vice President of The Foundation of Carolinas, “We’re excited to make this investment in Carolina Farm Trust because they address a number of key focus areas for the Foundation.  Certainly, food security is a major issue. But the farm will also be a place to build social capital between diverse groups, serve as a living laboratory for students, and perhaps most importantly, help develop specialized agricultural and business skills that can lead to economic mobility.  I really think the ingredients are […]

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17 Sep, 2019

Pick-your-own flowers, fresh produce and farm stand coming to 11-acre farm 25 miles from Charlotte

By |2020-01-07T04:53:28+00:00September 17, 2019|Comments Off on Pick-your-own flowers, fresh produce and farm stand coming to 11-acre farm 25 miles from Charlotte

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Full Article Source Here By

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Carolina Farm Trust, a local nonprofit that helps farmers access land, equipment and marketing resources, has secured a 10-year lease on an 11-acre parcel of land being revitalized into a new working farm opening spring 2020.

The property is located in Fairview, NC about 25 miles east of Charlotte and CFT has had it for about a year. The land owner reached out to the organization with a desire to see the farm utilized in a positive way upon retiring.

CFT is leasing the property for the tax value and has first right of refusal to purchase it if and when the owner decides to sell, a move founder and executive director Zack Wyatt plans to execute.

“The biggest thing that little parcel can do is give a visual example for the Charlotte public of what it means to be sustainable,” he says.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”12px”][vc_single_image image=”4372″ img_size=”full”][vc_empty_space height=”12px”][vc_column_text]

CFT is subleasing the land to three independent organizations — Nebedaye Farms, Serendipity Flowers, and Crown Town Compost — creating a sort of co-working model for the collaborative farm.

The goal is to help create a circular economy with each producer supporting the others.

Crown Town’s compost made from Mecklenburg County food waste will help grow Serendipity’s flowers that support the bee population that pollinates Nebedaye’s produce that’s available for public sale and could return full circle as compost.

“The average person doesn’t know what [sustainable] means,” says Wyatt. “I think this can be a very good living example of this revolving circular economy and how to do it.”

The farm will have public-facing activities, including pick-your-own flower fields and a […]

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16 Sep, 2019

This community farm plans food, flowers and compost and it wants your waste

By |2020-01-07T05:07:03+00:00September 16, 2019|Comments Off on This community farm plans food, flowers and compost and it wants your waste

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Full Article Source Here at Charlotte Five By Temily Wardlaw

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Imagine a city with zero food waste. A city in which leftover food is turned into compost and is then continually used as soil to produce new crops.

This concept is called a “circular economy,” and the local nonprofit Carolina Farm Trust has recently acquired an 11-acre farm in Union County to begin what will be a 10 year journey of changing the way the community interacts with the lifecycle of food.

Set to open in the spring of 2020, the farmland has been subleased to three independent organizations: Nebedaye Farms, Serendipity Flowers and Crown Town Compost.

Read more here: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefive/c5-around-town/article236109863.html#storylink=cpy

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Courtesy of Crown Town Compost

[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”12px”][vc_column_text]“We are creating this farm to strengthen our community — to create a cycle in which people in our area can both give to and receive from the farm,” said Zack Wyatt, founder and executive director of the Carolina Farm Trust.

Nebedaye, Serendipity and Crown Town will be working in tandem to replicate a circular economy. Compost created from Crown Town food waste donations will be used as soil to grow fruits and vegetables for Nebedaye Farms, as well as flowers for the Serendipity U-pick flower patch and petal cart.

Crown Town Compost

Crown Town Compost’s mission is to change the cycle of food waste in the Queen City.  Major companies like the Omni Hotel and local favorites like Not Just Coffee are actively working with Crown Town to keep food waste out of Charlotte landfills.

Instead of paying to dispose of food waste in a landfill, Crown Town urges  community members to bring their waste to the farm and use it to create nutrient rich soil for farming and […]

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20 Jun, 2018

Charlotte Talks: Bringing Relief To Our Food Deserts

By |2019-12-12T17:34:44+00:00June 20, 2018|Comments Off on Charlotte Talks: Bringing Relief To Our Food Deserts

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WFAE 90.7 Charlotte’s NPR News Source –

“On the next Charlotte Talks, a look into food insecurity. The queen city is populated with areas known as food deserts, areas in which it is difficult or impossible to buy affordable fresh food. We sit down with a panel of guests to discuss what can be done about this.

As of 2015  nearly 90,000 of Charlotte’s residents don’t have access to healthy foods. Charlotte’s poorer areas are particularly hard hit by this.

This lack of food security for many of Charlotte’s residents highlights the uneven economic growth in a city that is already ranked among the worst in America for providing opportunities for its residents to lift themselves out of poverty.

GUESTS:

Zack Wyatt, director, Carolina Farm Trust

Philip Otienburu, director, Center for Renewable Energy & Sustainability, Johnson C. Smith University

Dimple Ajmera, Council Member, City of Charlotte”

Click Here To Listen and View Source

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3 May, 2018

New Urban Farm Targets ‘Food Desert’ In Charlotte’s East Side

By |2019-12-12T18:32:35+00:00May 3, 2018|Comments Off on New Urban Farm Targets ‘Food Desert’ In Charlotte’s East Side

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This rendering shows the proposed Urban Farm at Aldersgate in east Charlotte.

This urban farm concept will expand access to healthy food options in Charlotte’s east side.

Aldersgate and Carolina Farm Trust have teamed up on that initiative, called Urban Farm at Aldersgate. Plans call for that 6.7-acre working farm to serve as a food source — and learning center — for the community.

“Part of our mission at Aldersgate is taking care of our neighbors,” says Erin Barbee, Aldersgate’s director of mission advancement. “Access to fresh, healthy food should be a given for everyone in our community.”

Aldersgate operates a 231-acre continuing care retirement community.

The farm will sit adjacent to that campus. Aldersgate has leased that land to Carolina Farm Trust for the next decade at $1 per year.

The trust will be responsible for farm management and operations.

It is working with Insight Architects and general contractor G.L. Wilson on a master plan to transform what is currently unused tennis courts, a pool and outbuildings into a working urban farm.

Implementing that plan is projected to cost about $3 million.

Urban Farm looks to fill a gap for those living in poverty or food-insecure homes, where there is a need for reliable fresh, healthy food options.

 “Locally grown, whole food – the kind with little to no processing between where it’s grown and where it’s consumed – should not be out of reach for anyone living in a prosperous city like Charlotte,” says […]

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3 May, 2018

Aldersgate and Carolina Farm Trust Sow Seeds For Eastside Charlotte Residents

By |2019-12-12T18:31:57+00:00May 3, 2018|0 Comments

Urban Farm – a concept that will be celebrated at a June 7 dinner – is designed to nourish, educate and inspire a whole community

Charlotte, N.C., (May 3, 2018) – Aldersgate and Carolina Farm Trust are collaborating on a major agricultural and cultural initiative that will continue the Aldersgate-led transformation of Charlotte’s east side. The nonprofit, 6.7-acre Urban Farm at Aldersgate will serve as a food source – and learning lab – for the eastside community and beyond. Both EBT and SNAP will be accepted, ensuring the working (and year-round) farm is truly a resource for all. Plans call for the first seeds to be planted this spring and for the farm to be operational by fall.

Aldersgate’s mission goes beyond serving the elders who call the 231-acre campus home. It includes engaging the community’s neighbors.

“Part of our mission at Aldersgate is taking care of our neighbors,” said Erin Barbee, Aldersgate’s director of mission advancement. “Access is to fresh, healthy food should be a given for everyone in our community. But in some parts of the east side, people are living in a food desert. That’s not acceptable to us. Eating fresh, local food should not be a privilege that comes with social standing. It’s a human right that has measurable health and economic benefits.”

To introduce the concept, Carolina Farm Trust will host “A Night at the Museum” on Thursday, June 7 from 6 to 9 p.m. The “movable feast” features a menu inspired by exhibits at the Charlotte Museum of History, the site of the dinner. Chefs from Heirloom, The Yolk, Project 658, Yafo, 5 Church and Fern will each create one course. Locally sourced libations come from Dover Vineyard, Shelton Vineyard and Resident Culture craft beer. […]

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3 May, 2018

Urban Farm Aims To Provide Economical Boost For East Charlotte

By |2018-06-26T19:14:11+00:00May 3, 2018|0 Comments

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“CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) –

A nearly seven acre tract in east Charlotte has seen better days. The buildings have become dilapidated. The tennis courts overrun with weeds.

But WBTV has learned it is about to see better days again. “Well, my big, big vision is this is the first step of really building a food system that feeds Charlotte,” Zack Wyatt, who is the executive director of the Carolina Farm Trust, said.

Carolina Farm Trust works to preserve and promote farmland.

The organization is partnering with Aldersgate, the east Charlotte retirement community, and together they are building an urban farm in the Windsor Park neighborhood of east Charlotte.

“So an urban farm is very different than a community garden. That’s what many people think it is. An urban farm has to be an actual working farm with a farm manager, Erin Barber, of Aldersgate, said.

Barber came up with the urban farm idea after seeing how successful they were elsewhere.

“I’m from Charlotte and I didn’t know east Charlotte was in a food dessert,” Barber said. “People didn’t have access to produce. They didn’t have access to grocery stores easily and I thought can Aldersgate be someone that can resolve that for us. And an urban farm solves that.”

The farm will be in the Windsor Park community, adjacent to Aldersgate’s 231-acre campus.

There will be no livestock. Initially, the farm will grow basic crops to be sold locally. If all goes as planned, crops at the Urban Farm at Aldersgate will start coming in this fall.

Aldersgate […]

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