West Charlotte nonprofit brings focus to food desert at urban garden open house
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Park CDC operates Sunset Farm to provide fresh produce and fight food insecurity.
- Open house trains 50 attendees in horticulture, pollination, garden starter kits.
- Park CDC partners with volunteers, businesses and city frameworks to expand access.
When people think of a farm, a roughly 3-acre parcel with a few garden beds and sheds in northwest Charlotte may not be the first image that comes to mind.
But that’s exactly what they’d be driving by if they traveled down Sunset and Peachtree roads.
Situated at that intersection is Sunset Farm, an urban garden operated by the Park Community Development Corporation, a local nonprofit. And that garden, which continues to grow over time, is a part of the nonprofit’s effort to combat food insecurity just north of the historic West End, off Beatties Ford Road .
“We are strategically placed in this area to make sure that those who don’t have, you know, fresh produce approximate to them, like some of the other areas, … have access to high quality organic vegetables and produce for a reduced, if any cost at all,” said Danyae Thomas, director of programs and strategic partnerships.
On Saturday, the nonprofit will host the fall version of its seasonal open house at Sunset Farm , where attendees will learn about horticulture, pollination and how to garden.
The open house is among several strategies the Park CDC uses to connect with residents in the West Charlotte community — a known food desert as identified by city officials. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food deserts as low-income neighborhoods with at least 500 people, or 33% of the population, who live more than a mile from a grocery store, the Charlotte Observer previously reported. Meanwhile, an Observer analysis in 2023 found about 38% of Charlotte’s Black residents — compared with 25% of its white residents — live in a food desert.
Healthy living
The Park CDC was started by the Park Church in 2018, Thomas said. It’s an independent nonprofit now, but still works closely with the church. The group focuses on three pillars: affordable housing, healthy living, and economic mobility.
Sunset Farm is part of the healthy living pillar, Thomas said. At any time, volunteers may be working at the site planting veggies and fruits, while hundreds of students may be learning about food. And locals may be learning how to turn fresh vegetables and fruits into healthy dishes.
The nonprofit also distributes food to people at farm stands or community partnerships.
“None of us could do it alone,” Thomas said. “It’s the team working … but also lots and lots of collaboration that makes it work.”
A group of volunteers from Discover Bank volunteered at the farm Thursday, spending the day repairing a fence, moving things out of a rental unit and into sheds, and planting strawberries.
The farmland is surrounded by trees. Aside from cars driving along the road, the area is quiet. Near a tree line, the nonprofit has placed picnic tables for when students and other guests come for a visit.
The group doesn’t own the land, said Kelly Cuddy, the farm and operations manager. It is owned by Martin Marietta, a company that aggregates resources for construction materials, such as cement. The company owns a quarry nearby. Cuddy said the company partnered with the farm because it acts as a buffer to keep its operations quiet and ensure the community isn’t disturbed.
Urban garden to stop food apartheid
Bees hover around the area, taking a particular liking to the garden beds and a fig tree. Thomas ate one of the figs while speaking about the nonprofit.
She said that piece of land was picked specifically because it’s in Charlotte’s Beatties Ford/Rozzelles Ferry Corridors of Opportunity.
“The corridors of opportunity was a framework that was created to ensure that historically underserved communities have the resources that they need, in housing, with jobs, with food security,” Thomas said.
She said that while it is important to work with city leaders on addressing food insecurity, it’s also important to be active in communities and working with people impacted directly.
The corridor often is called a food desert, but Thomas prefers a different description: food apartheid.
“Because a desert is something that happens naturally,” Thomas said. “Apartheid is something that happens on purpose.”
Thomas said Sunset Farm, and the Park CDC, hope to mitigate that issue.
“We do the best we can in the area that we can serve,” Thomas said. But “We can only grow as much as we have capacity for. We have an amazing team, but we’re not really super women.”
Aside from gardening and distributing food, education is a major component of the farm, Cuddy said.
At the open house, attendees will participate in a garden-to-go class and learn how to plant a “starter garden” in a small container at the farm and then be able to take it home, where they’ll be able to cultivate it on their own.
“We also have chefs that come out and help us do an ingredient-focused recipe set,” Cuddy said. “In the summer, for example, we had one of our chefs do a watermelon and mint salad, because that’s what’s growing in the summer.”
The event is capped off at 50 guests to keep it intimate and personalized, Cuddy said, but can still get “wild.”
“But it’s fun because we like wild,” she said.
Want to go?
What: Fall Urban Garden Open House
When: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 11
Where: Sunset Farm, 3432 Sunset Road.
More information about Sunset Farm and the nonprofit’s other work and events is available on its website.
This story was originally published October 6, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
