Carolina Farm Trust breaks ground on Urban Farm at Aldersgate in east Charlotte this week, weather permitting. The seven-acre farm, located in the Windsor Park community adjacent to Aldersgate’s campus, will provide year-round produce for Aldersgate residents and the east Charlotte community.

A multi-phase project, the demolition of the two cinder block buildings and two tennis courts is phase one. After demolition, land preparation will start for the 2019 spring season along with the planting of fruit trees for an orchard.

“It is awesome to see a piece of property that has been dilapidated for the past twenty years revitalized and will produce something that will be an asset to the east Charlotte community,” says Zack Wyatt, Executive Director of Carolina Farm Trust.

With uneven economic growth, east Charlotte has become a food desert, making it difficult for residents to purchase affordable fresh food. The partnership between Carolina Farm Trust and Aldersgate is hoping to solve this with the Urban Farm at Aldersgate.

The long-term vision includes an aquaponics garden, mobile kitchen, beehives for pollination, a hoop garden, and a farm stand selling produce from the urban farm and farms within a 100-mile radius. Additionally, the farm is designed to be a community hub and learning lab for residents, schools, and businesses. There will be no livestock. —Justin Burke-Samson