Farmers Danielle Keeter and Mark McDonagh are co-owners of Mighty Gnome Market Garden in Waynesville, NC. They believe that a small farm can have a profound impact on their local food economy. They grow fresh, seasonal produce as sustainably as possible, all while following organic methods. Danielle explains that “everything is done by hand, we’re not riding on the back of a tractor. It’s just the two of us doing all of this. My favorite part about running the Market Garden is a toss-up between eating really great food and the community that has surrounded us here.”
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Meet Your Farmer: Southside Community Farm
Meet Farmer Chloe Moore, the farm manager for Southside Community Farm, an urban food space in the historically black Southside neighborhood in Asheville, NC. “Our focus is on community food. A farm like this is really important. It’s a place that people can come and enjoy being outside, where they can access free healthy food, and come together as a community and connect over food,” said Chloe.
Meet Your Farmer: The Liar’s Table
The Liar’s Table Farm and Market resides in what was once an iconic greasy spoon in Elk Park, North Carolina in Avery County. The restaurant was home to the “Liars Table,” an open table where anyone could pull up a chair, order a cup of coffee, and be sure to hear some tall tales. Learn how farmers Amos and Kaci Nidiffer started their farm as a hobby and how it grew to support their community. “We hope that people will be able to access some fresh food, especially in Elk Park, we don’t have a grocery store. Our market is a lot more convenient for people,” said Kaci.
Meet Your Farmer: Lee’s One Fortune Farm
Lee’s One Fortune Farm is a small family owned farm located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in McDowell County. The Lee family is part of a community of Hmong farmers. The Hmong people are native to Laos and Vietnam, and many came to the United States as refugees after the Vietnam War. Western North Carolina is home to one of the largest Hmong communities in the United States. Lee’s One Fortune Farm specializes in growing Asian produce. They sell their produce at farmers markets where they encourage customers to try foods that they may have never had before!
Meet Your Farmer: Forest Farmacy
The Forest Farmacy is a 30 acre forest farm nestled in Madison County, NC in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Kat Houghton and Chris Parker bring together their passions for fungus, food sovereignty, healing, soul, myth, mystery, mycelium and re-culturing.
The best part of being a farmer for Kat is “being so close to the natural world all the time. We are very dependent on what the weather is doing or what the animals are doing, how the plants and mushrooms are doing. I really enjoy that.”
Meet Your Farmer: Smallholding Farm
Farmer Daniel Bryant practices minimal-to-no-till agriculture and takes great effort to nourish living soil while farmer Ellie Goldstein focuses on supplying and supporting the local community with rich produce, like their winter carrots. Find out why winter carrots are their favorite and what it takes to be good stewards of the environment.
Meet Your Farmer: Tomas C Farms
Meet brother and sister Jorge and Paty Tomas of Tomas C Farms in Marion, NC. “Our vision for the farm is to try to improve the farm, help the community, help the environment, do best in taking care of the soil. Farming is not easy. Sometimes you have weather, diseases. You have to enjoy every moment. You have to go out and say okay, I can do this, I can do this better. I like farming. It’s a job, but I enjoy it,” said Jorge.
Meet Your Farmer: Yellow Mountain Garden
Meet Malcolm and the Banks family, the farmers at Yellow Mountain Garden in Franklin, NC. Set the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, you will learn about small farming, agriculture, and why Malcolm grows a little bit of everything. The farm is set in the middle of a wetland area so you will see a lot of radishes being grown. You will also learn what motivates Malcolm and his family to be farmers, their community visions, and goals to help support food deserts with their local crops.
Meet Your Farmer: Perry’s Berry’s
Meet Terry and Debbie Perry, the farmers at Perry’s Berry’s, a blueberry farm in Morganton, NC. Learn all about what blueberries do, what their health benefits are, and what the Perry family loves about farming. Perry’s Berry’s is an organic farm, they do not use pesticides on their crops. Their blueberries have a fruit sugar scale measurement of 13% on the brix scale, two times the normal fruit sugar of a normal blueberry. Plan a trip to Perry’s Berry’s, try a blueberry, and taste the sweetness of their fruit for yourself!
2021 NC Farm to ECE Survey Results
The NC Farm to Preschool Network (NCF2PN) launched the 2021 North Carolina Farm to Early Care and Education Survey in January 2021. We heard from 656 respondents, representing 83 of North Carolina’s 100 counties. Childcare providers shared their current farm to early care and education (ECE) initiatives, including motivations for participation and challenges to starting