resources
finding food
Most small farms in our community donate regularly to the food pantries and community organizations working tirelessly to feed people, especially during COVID. If you need food, want to volunteer, or want to donate, here are some resources:
​
-
Orange County has information on accessing food.
-
Food Pantries: IFC, Hillside/Point Church
-
The Marian Cheek Jackson Center in Northside has a food program in Chapel Hill called Heavenly Groceries.
-
PORCH collects and distributes food in all the towns of the triangle.
-
TABLE is getting food to folks specifically in Orange County
-
In Durham, Fed-Up by the Poor People's Campaign is feeding everyone they can. They don't have a website but the link contains enough information to get going.
growing in the piedmont
Here are some resources (no affiliate anything) we rely on or want folks to know about, whether you are a gardener, seed saver, or looking to support community resources:
​
-
Our local land grant university, NC State, has tremendous resources available for gardeners, small farmers, backyard poultry keepers, beekeepers, and more. Search for anything followed by "NCSU" and you'll get their publications. The Growing Small Farms program is a treasure.
-
Here's an excellent planting schedule from the extension program, which we supplement with one that also covers harvest windows, by Doug Jones and Debbie Roos.
-
We get most of our farm supplies from the fabulous folks at Country Farm and Home in Pittsboro and their website and mailing lists contain a wealth of information. Barnes Supply and Stone Bros. in Durham and Southern States and Fifth Season in Carrboro are the local spots we use for garden and poultry supplies.
southern seeds and seed saving
In recent years the importance of regionally adapted seed has gained traction as an important issue for sustainable agriculture, especially in the context of climate change. The legacy of slavery, enduring institutional racism against Indigenous and People of Color, and elitist rejection of the cultural importance of poor people's food has left Southern seed, seed keepers, seed histories, and farmers neglected from the perspective of preservation and commercial appreciation. It is impossible to name all the important folks doing work in this area, but we share some resources here:
​
-
Small and regional seed growers and breeders that we know and love: Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Truelove Seeds, The Utopian Seed Project, Sow True Seed, Working Food (whose divine Melissa deSa created our logo art), Commonwealth Seed, Sistah Seeds. The People's Seed merged with The Utopian Seed Project in 2020, for those who have followed the work of Tony Kleese.
-
SESE has a wonderful support page for getting to know small seed growers, including many in the South.
-
The Exchange at Seed Savers is the only national seed saving and swapping platform we know of and it's an incredible resource.
-
The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association and Organic Seed Alliance have been actively helping Southern growers network in their efforts to develop a regional seed and food system.
-
The Indigenous Seed Keeping Alliance preserves culture, language, and native traditions by saving heirloom seed and their stories.
-
Soul Fire Farm is at the forefront of support for BIPOC farmers and education and training in food sovereignty for communities of color.
-
The Black Farmer Fund supports land justice and Black Farmers.
books and podcasts
Between farming and homeschooling I haven't read a physical book in a long time, but podcasts and audiobooks keep me company in the field and here are some great ones related to small farming:
​
-
Farming While Black by Leah Penniman. Everyone should read this book.
-
If you want to daydream about sheep, homesteading, and back to the land possibilities, read any of Gene Logsden's books and blog posts.
-
If you are really into seeds and want to nerd out, see if you can get your hands on The Organic Seed Grower by John Navazio
-
The No-Till Market Garden podcast has incredible episodes for understanding soil health and diversified small growing, whether you are trying to make a living from it or not.
-
Seeds and Their People is a radio show by one of my favorite seed story tellers.
-
While Chris Blanchard is gone, Farmer to Farmer is not and it's the first farming podcast I listened to and I still go back to interviews and listen to them again.
