(704) 264-6088|zack@carolinafarmtrust.org
28 Feb, 2022

Carolina Farm Trust Facility Aims to Fill Void in West Charlotte

By |2022-03-22T19:38:16+00:00February 28, 2022|Comments Off on Carolina Farm Trust Facility Aims to Fill Void in West Charlotte

Distribution center will include butchery, grocery store, teaching kitchen and event space

Nikolai Mather

Carolina Farm Trust CEO Zack Wyatt kicks our interview off with a simple phrase: “Every major geopolitical issue we have is coming from the dirt, in one fashion or another.”

In some ways, one could argue that his nonprofit’s latest project, a local food production and distribution center in west Charlotte’s Thomasboro-Hoskins neighborhood, worked in reverse. After all, it was due to COVID (a geopolitical issue) that city leaders were able to see the need for this project, allowing Carolina Farm Trust to secure the funding needed for the warehouse, located on what is currently just an abandoned lot (the dirt).

Wyatt says a global pandemic is, for many, what it took to recognize how important local foodways are.

“Once you start realizing that the average grocery store has about two and a half days of regular buying patterns before it’s empty … no one could ignore how fragile our [food] systems are.”

CLICK TO FINISH READING

Read More
17 Feb, 2022

Planned grocery store hopes to solve west Charlotte’s ‘food desert’

By |2022-03-22T19:32:20+00:00February 17, 2022|Comments Off on Planned grocery store hopes to solve west Charlotte’s ‘food desert’

By Anthony Kustura, wsoctv.com

CHARLOTTE — An old egg production plant will soon be transformed into a grocery store and food distribution center in a west Charlotte neighborhood now considered a food desert.

Carolina Farm Trust, a nonprofit aimed at tackling food insecurity, has secured a 25,000-square-foot space in the 500 block of South Hoskins Road near Brookshire Boulevard as the site for its retail endeavor.

The neighborhood where the store will reside in west Charlotte is known to have a shortage of sources for fresh food — there are no official grocery stores within a mile radius of the area.

“There’s never been a grocery store over here,” said Jean Rogers, a resident of the area for 48 years.

Chris Peake, general manager for Carolina Farm Trust’s local foods distribution and production center, grew up four blocks away from the grocery store’s future site.

With financial support secured from Mecklenburg County and the Charlotte City Council, Peake said the nonprofit will raise the remaining funds from donations. Carolina Farm Trust hopes to debut the store by the spring of 2023.

“We’re really pushing forward, because the seriousness of this is now,” Peake said.

Read More
14 Feb, 2022

A west Charlotte food distribution center is set to receive $1.5M in city funding

By |2022-03-22T19:33:05+00:00February 14, 2022|Comments Off on A west Charlotte food distribution center is set to receive $1.5M in city funding

facility mock upWFAE | By Nick de la Canal
Published February 14, 2022 at 5:46 AM EST

What’s now a vacant warehouse off Interstate 85 near Brookshire Boulevard in Charlotte could soon become a bustling food market and distribution center with a rooftop garden, test kitchen, meat processing facility and a grocery store.

The nonprofit Carolina Farm Trust is developing plans for the facility at 511 South Hoskins Road. The site includes 25,000 square feet of existing building space and 60,000 square feet of green space.

The nonprofit already partners with many local farmers, helping them with land, equipment and other farming essentials. The group also purchases many locally produced foods to distribute to people in need, as well as local nonprofits, food trucks and restaurants operating in underserved areas of Mecklenburg County.

Carolina Farm Trust’s president and CEO, Zack Wyatt, said the new center could help the group expand its partnerships with local farmers and distribute more locally produced fruits, veggies, dairy products and meats around the county.

“Then we can make it easy for the community to actually participate in the local food economy because right now, it’s just very difficult to do that,” Wyatt said.

Mecklenburg County has already given $3 million in COVID-19 relief money to the new center, and the Charlotte City Council on Monday will consider giving the project an additional $1.5 million, also in COVID-19 relief money.

The total cost of the project, including renovation of the warehouse, startup costs and the first three years of operations, is $14 million.

Wyatt said the group plans to fundraise the remaining $10 million for the project. With the city and county money, Wyatt said work on the new facility can begin, with the center starting up some operations and opening its retail grocery store by […]

Read More
7 Jan, 2020

Eric Davis, North Carolina State Board of Education, Chair

By |2020-01-22T00:28:15+00:00January 7, 2020|Comments Off on Eric Davis, North Carolina State Board of Education, Chair

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3LLFLGPAW0″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Carolina Business Review

Catch our executive director, Zack Wyatt, on a recent episode of Carolina Business Review.

 

Panelists: Joe Waters, Capita
Zack Wyatt, Carolina Farm Trust

Guests from recent dialogues include (top left) Peter Gwaltney – NC Bankers, Linda Brown – Asheboro Chamber, Larry Appel – Fresh Market CEO, Zack Wyatt – Carolina Farm Trust, Joe Waters – Capita, Eric Davis – NC Board of Ed. Chair, Bernie Mazyck – SC Asso. of Community Dev., Catherine Truitt – Western Governors Univ., Brian Etheridge – Leadership NC and Chris William. — with Carolina Farm Trust, Capita, Western Governors University, South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development, Asheboro/Randolph Chamber of Commerce, Leadership North Carolina and The Fresh Market.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Read More
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 […]

Read More
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

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”4377″ img_size=”full”][vc_empty_space height=”12px”][vc_column_text]

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

[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”12px”][vc_single_image image=”4378″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]

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 […]

Read More
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

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]

[/vc_column_text][ult_buttons btn_title=”LISTEN NOW” btn_link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fwfae.org%2Fpost%2Fcharlotte-talks-bringing-relief-our-food-deserts#stream/0||target:%20_blank|” btn_align=”ubtn-center” btn_size=”ubtn-large” btn_title_color=”#ffffff” btn_bg_color=”#44873f” btn_hover=”ubtn-fade-bg” btn_anim_effect=”ulta-grow” icon_size=”32″ btn_icon_pos=”ubtn-sep-icon-at-left”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1525363002298{margin-right: 100px !important;margin-bottom: 100px !important;margin-left: 100px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column]

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

Read More
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

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]

[/vc_column_text][ult_buttons btn_title=”WATCH VIDEO NOW” btn_link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wbtv.com%2Fclip%2F14321825%2Frevitalizing-charlottes-east-side||target:%20_blank|” btn_align=”ubtn-center” btn_size=”ubtn-large” btn_title_color=”#ffffff” btn_bg_color=”#44873f” btn_hover=”ubtn-fade-bg” btn_anim_effect=”ulta-grow” icon_size=”32″ btn_icon_pos=”ubtn-sep-icon-at-left”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1525363002298{margin-right: 100px !important;margin-bottom: 100px !important;margin-left: 100px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column]

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 […]

Read More

Newsletter

Who We Are

What We Do

Get Involved

Get In Touch

Go to Top