A new local food distribution center in west Charlotte aims to change lives

Carolina Farm Trust CEO, Zack Wyatt (left) and Carolina Farm Trust Local Foods Distribution & Production Center general manager, Chris Peake. Photo: Ashley Mahoney/Axios

Chris Peake is coming back to the neighborhood he grew up in to rewrite the narrative around food insecurity.

Peake was raised across the street from 511 S. Hoskins Rd., the site where Carolina Farm Trust, a nonprofit working to strengthen local food systems, will develop their local foods distribution and production center in west Charlotte.

• “I used to clean the parking lot right there where Mr. Quick is,” Peake told me.
• He recalled seeing grocery stores leave the Thomasboro-Hoskins neighborhood over the years, making fresh and nutritious food in the neighborhood hard to find.

Why it matters: Food insecurity in west Charlotte has been an issue for decades, and a lack of access to healthy food has directly affected the community’s well-being.

• Only 13 percent of housing units west of Uptown have a full-service, chain grocery store within 1/2-mile, per UNC Charlotte’s quality of life explorer.
• The county-wide average is 32%. 
• Neighborhoods like Dilworth, the number is 86%.

What’s happening: Carolina Farm Trust CEO Zack Wyatt told Axios the site will offer wholesale, retail and delivery options, a studio kitchen, community and event space, plus an urban farm. It’ll also help address supply chain issues.

Aimed at tackling food insecurity, the center will be a place where community members can come to purchase affordable fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy.

• CFT will refurbish the existing two buildings, with Neighboring Concepts serving as the architect on the project.
• The space sits next to a rail line that is no longer in use. They plan to add railcars for both the historic look and the function of extra gathering space.
• Peake will serve as the distribution center’s general manager.

Peake’s position is personal, not only because he’s from the neighborhood, but because of a health scare that nearly cost him his life.

• Fourteen years ago, he had an aortic dissection due to hypertension and kidney disease. An aortic dissection is a tear in the inner layer of the aorta, the body’s primary artery. It is often deadly if blood reaches the outside aortic wall.
• He said that before the diagnosis, he never considered what he ate, and it hurt his health.
• “It’s amazing I can come back to this community and say, ‘Hey, I have a better option for us,’” Peake told me.

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Carolina Farm Trust first saw the site in April 2021.

Wyatt said he didn’t want to even take a look, because he knew they didn’t have the money for it.

• “It would be heartbreaking to see something like this and not be able to do anything with it,” Wyatt said.
• As he expected, the space was perfect. Now they had to find a way to fund it.
• The money side changed over the last two months.

By the numbers:  Mecklenburg County committed $3 million to the $14 million project in January, followed by $1.5 million from the city in February. The $14 million is for a full build out, plus operating costs for four years.

• “We lined up to move forward the second they said yes,” Wyatt told me. “As I was walking out of the [Mecklenburg Board of County] commissioners meeting in January, I texted Darrel Williams over at Neighboring Concepts, and I’m like, ‘We’re rolling.’”
• Wyatt told Axios the goal is to have enough to get up and running, plus a safety net.
• They have a 25-year lease on the site with an option to buy.

What’s next: Carolina Farm Trust is targeting a May 2023 opening.

• Historic West End Partners founder J’Tanya Adams said at a community meeting in January they’ve been in talks with Carolina Farm Trust about how the distribution center can benefit their vision to bring a co-op market to the west side.

The big picture: How much do any of us participate in our local food economy? When you buy lettuce at your local grocery store, do you stop to ask if it was grown near Charlotte?

• Wyatt told me beyond purchasing goods at farmers’ markets or farm-to-table restaurants, its rare for people to be active in their local food economy.
• “[We’re] really trying to make participating in a local food economy normal and not niche,” Wyatt said.

Bonus: Carolina Farm Trust will bring the Night at the Museum fundraiser back after two years on May 12 at the Mint Museum in Uptown.

• Peake will be the keynote speaker.
• It will feature over 10 local chefs, plus mixologists, breweries and vineyards.
• Tickets to the fundraiser for the Ultimate Food Lover are $100, which runs from 5-6pm. The event itself runs from 6-9pm, and standard tickets are $75.

Take a look around the distribution center before renovations begin.