16
Sep
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.
Courtesy of Crown Town Compost
“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 gardening.