About Us

Our mission is to create a thriving, equitable food system by working with local farms to provide crucial access to fresh produce to food insecure people in Cleveland County.

MISSION

VISION

Our vision is a community where everyone has equal access to healthy food. That means fresh produce is affordable and available in all neighborhoods.

Group of six people standing outdoors in a grassy area, smiling at the camera, with parked cars and buildings in the background.

Here in Cleveland County, like other rural communities, we face the ironic reality that despite being surrounded by thriving farmland, many of our neighbors are struggling to feed their families, let alone access the quality nutrition they need to live healthy lives.

There are 16,980 food insecure people in Cleveland County. In our county alone, there are 7 food deserts identified by the USDA. 24% of our county is reliant on SNAP or EBT, which has been subject to extreme cuts and pauses.  

We work with local farmers, purchasing their products in order to provide free, fresh produce to people across Cleveland County at our pop-up markets. We provide fresh vegetables, fruit, eggs, and meat that are scarce at local pantries, no questions asked, no limits imposed.

Three people wearing masks at an outdoor farmers market or produce stand, with greenery and trees in the background and a wooden shelter overhead.
Community gathering at Broad River Community Market under a wooden pavilion with people talking and serving food. In the foreground, a red little free library box and a green Broad River Community Market banner are visible. There are residential houses and a basketball hoop in the background on a sunny day.

OUR PARTNER FARMS:

A man and woman in casual gardening clothes standing in a farm field, smiling at each other, holding gardening tools, with cultivated rows of plants and a rural landscape in the background.
Person holding freshly harvested carrots, radishes, and turnips in a garden.

Old North Farm

Shelby, Cleveland County NC

Home of our community garden

A girl standing outdoors in a grassy area, wearing brown overalls and a gray hoodie, with trees and a vehicle visible in the background.

Healy Lane Farm

Mooresboro, Cleveland County NC

Produce, eggs and poultry.

Jupiter’s Pantry

Shelby, Cleveland County NC

Produce, eggs, poultry, pasture raised pork, and honey.

A family of four standing in a vegetable garden with green plants and a field or trees in the background, smiling at the camera.

A Way of Life Farm

Bostic, Rutherford County NC

Produce and pasture raised pork.

Collage of scenes from a farm, featuring an elderly woman harvesting crops in a field, black crates filled with harvested plants, and a man collecting plants into crates in a rural setting at sunset.

Roots and Branches

Lawndale, Cleveland County NC

Produce, rice, herbs, poultry, and pork.

A red barn with white doors and trim on a farm, with a gravel driveway and green fields under a cloudy sky.

LJ Peaceful Acres Farm

Shelby, Cleveland County NC

Eggs and poultry.