Orange County has partnered with the local nonprofit TABLE in a three-year deal that will allow the nonprofit to use designated land for sustainable agriculture to address food insecurity.
The land is on the site of the future Twin Creeks Park on Old NC Highway 86. Twin Creeks Park was part of a master plan adopted by Orange County in 2005, but the project has failed to materialize since then. TABLE, which focuses on combating childhood hunger, will instead use it to grow more fruits and vegetables and deliver them directly to food-insecure children. The agreement was approved by the Orange County Board of Commissioners on May 20 and officially signed on June 11.
The Twin Creeks Park project has failed to materialize since being included in a master plan in 2005. (Photo via Orange County Government)
Based in Carrboro, TABLE distributes healthy food to 1,160 children in Orange County every week. Executive director Ashton Tippins said that with a fast-growing waitlist currently at 191 kids, an expansion of operations has been urgent for a while.
“Our waitlist started in February of 2023 when the pandemic benefits ended, and honestly, ever since then, it’s just never gone back down,” she said. “We’ll add kids from that waitlist, but then we’ll have more people sign right back up. So it’s been this ongoing need for growth for the past couple of years for sure.”
The process was initiated by Jim Sander, who runs Wildflower Lane Farm. He has partnered with TABLE since 2019, with his farm providing about $125,000 worth of produce to TABLE just this year. He approached the county with the idea to use the Twin Creeks land for agriculture. Tippins said Sander’s initiative has been crucial to TABLE’s strength and effectiveness.
“Partnering with Jim, and for Jim to be interested in and willing to take this on is truly just incredible,” she said. “It does make our work more sustainable. We’re able to serve more kids and take steps towards serving more kids as a result of the partnership with Jim and this kind of expansion of Wildflower Lane.”
They’re currently in the process of clearing and tilling the land, bringing in water, installing fences, and doing other preparatory work before they can start planting, which they hope to do by the end of August. The first year will only use about half an acre, while the plan over the next few years is to gradually expand to the full two acres available. Sander estimates that this combined with the 2/3 of an acre at Wildflower Lane Farm will have the capacity to grow $500,000 of produce per year.
He also said these gardens have added value for communities beyond just producing food.
“Not only just for the food aspect, but it brings people together and creates community, gets people talking and working together for a common cause,” he said. “Getting food, good food, to kids is pretty much something everybody thinks is a good idea. So I’d love to see every community have a big community garden that actually produces a lot of food and gets to the people who need it.”
Sander said he’s actively trying to share this model with similar organizations across North Carolina.
“I’d like to spread the model to other parts of the county or in other counties. I think that could be a good model for people to copy,” he said. “I’d like to see this spread to every county in the state, some version of this.”
David Stancil, director of the Orange County Department of Environment, Agriculture, Parks and Recreation, said this partnership will be a significant part of the county’s efforts to diminish food insecurity.
“This agreement marks an important step toward the county’s commitment to supporting innovative, community-based solutions to hunger,” he said. “By utilizing a portion of a land-banked future park site, this production provides a community function in the meantime, reflective of our shared goal of strengthening local food systems while helping our neighbors in need.”
Jamezetta Bedford, Chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners, told 97.9 The Hill she appreciates the initiative of TABLE and Wildflower Lane, and is optimistic about the arrangement.
“Kudos to them for asking,” she said. “It’s finally all done at no cost to the county, and hopefully they will be able to grow fresh produce. I think it’s just a win-win for everyone.”
Featured photo via Orange County Government.
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