Oral Histories of the Piedmont Foodshed.
Alex Chapin Aaron Newton is a food advocate born and raised in Concord, NC. He works as the Lomax Farm Manager for Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, where he oversees new farmer training and coordinates other participants at the Elma C. Lomax Research and Education Farm.
Chantel Johnson was born in 1987 and initially planned a career in social work, obtaining her Masters of Social Work from the University of Washington. However, after the tragic death of her brother in Chicago due to gun violence, Chantel turned to agriculture and homesteading as a method of healing her grief.
Jean Siers is the Charlotte Regional Gleaning Coordinator for the Society of St. Andrews. She has been in her position since 2012. The Society of St. Andrews works to bring people together harvesting and sharing healthy food, reduce food waste, and help to build communities by feeding neighbors in need.
Lisa Sherman is 26 years old, and has been working for Tega Hills Farm for three years. Her duties at the farm include product weighing, packaging, and lettuce harvesting. She learned to love farming from spending time at her grandmother’s house in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania in her youth, and plans to pursue a degree in horticulture from Clemson at a later date.
Matt Watson is a third-generation cattle farmer in Chester, South Carolina. Alongside his wife Kelly and his father Gary, they have a 350 acre farm and rent an additional 80 acres.
Mr. Eddie Yow discusses his life, reflecting on the many changes to farming and livestock raising in the North Carolina Piedmont region. Mr. Yow was born local to the area in 1952. and has lived in Stanfield, NC for over 30 years.
Ed Williams recounts the foundation and continued growth of the Myers Park Baptist Church Community Garden. Ed discusses the way the garden was founded through church members, the collaboration of the garden with Friendship Trays, and the everyday use of the garden.
Bethel Feed & Farm, LLC, located off North Carolina Highway 24/27 in Midland, North Carolina, has been owned and operated by the Eaves family since 1957. Anson Eaves, the current owner/operator of the feed mill, is the third generation of the Eaves family to be involved in this business.
Emma Hendel discusses her five years as a microgreens farmer and co-owner of Fair Share Farms, LLC in Pfafftown, North Carolina. Ms. Hendel describes why and how she and her husband Elliot Seldner came to North Carolina and started their farm.
Mendy Godman, Sue Hawes, and Kim Aprill founded the Charlotte chapter of Food Connection in September 2018. Prior to beginning Food Connection, Godman worked in sales, Hawes in the nonprofit sector, and Aprill was a social worker.