Residents in Durham County have struggled with consistent access to nutritious foods for years. The need for change is urgent. But in recent years, that change isn’t just about providing food– it’s about who grows it, who owns the land and who reaps the rewards. 

Challenges related to food insecurity have existed in the area for decades. Limited grocery stores in underserved areas and socioeconomic disparities have contributed to this fact, and economic instability exacerbated the issue during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a study done by Durham County Public Health, areas in central, western, southern, and northern Durham reported a prevalence of households living off of a median income of $45,000 in 2023. Dozens of neighborhoods in Durham are home to residents living below the poverty line, as defined by North Carolina and the United States. Nearly half of residents within the city limits of Durham live over 1 mile from a grocery store – these numbers tend to overlap with those living in the poorest areas with the highest numbers of people of color. 

According to Feeding America, 11.3 percent of residents in Durham County are facing food insecurity, rates higher than neighboring Wake and Chatham Counties. Durham is working to decrease these numbers by reaching food sources.

“What tends to be missing in the discussion of food access and insecurity is nutrition,” said Bria Harris-Sharpe, policy analyst for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and previous director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Food Policy Council. “In impoverished communities, people are expected to live off of unhealthy foods sourced out of corner stores and bodegas. It’s not enough to just have food – we need ethically sourced, healthy food to fuel yourself and your family.”

Since 2020, farms in Durham have been on the same decline as farms in the United States. The United States Department of Agriculture reported an approximate seven percent decline of farms in the area. On this basis, the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded over $160,000 in 2022 to assess the feasibility of the Durham County Farm Campus initiative, an agriculturally based project to bridge the gap between farmers and tabletops.

“I think support of local farmers is key,” Harris-Sharpe said. “We can’t leave our agricultural communities behind, and we can’t ignore how vital their presence is when it comes to getting healthy foods up the road to inner-city households and rural areas that are hard to reach.”

Durham plans to place an emphasis on members of marginalized communities getting their start in agriculture, as well as expanding the visibility of farmers that have been in the region for decades. The area also has a large refugee population of approximately 45,000 immigrants that the initiative hopes to help cultivate possible diverse agricultural backgrounds. 

“We know that these types of things have worked in other communities, and we also know that sometimes they’ve experienced challenges,” said Donna Rewalt, Durham County Extension Director. “We didn’t want to dive into this kind of work without really having a good idea about what those obstacles might be, what those challenges might be, and what members of our community might think about it.”

The approach in this plan is dual-pronged. 

First, farmers in Durham County, particularly those in underrepresented communities, are in need of security and support in expanding and purchasing land. The initiative would aim to nurture and guide beginner farmers in breaking into the agricultural workforce. It would also aim to build facilities, incubators and farmland that would provide an environment for all farmers to receive training.

Second, the crops need to reach homes and the goal of these farms would support the greater community. Participants in the Farm Campus initiative would have resources such as a food hub to properly market and distribute locally grown foods for community members to use.

“We are looking at the whole part of the food system and the food value chain process,” Rewalt said. “Because, you know, if you grow strawberries, you still need to package them, and you need to wash them, and you may want to make jam […] so we’re thinking about that whole avenue for a producer to have access to other things.”

Durham County has recently purchased 120 acres of land in northern Durham that has the potential to house an agricultural development. The future of the land is yet to be finalized, but the county is looking to explore various opportunities for public access and agricultural expansion. 

The final feasibility study is due to be completed this November, but the community engagement portion of the study has been completed. On Monday, Oct. 7, the final report will be presented to the county commissioners and made public.

“I think it’s always disappointing to realize that people have experienced harm sometimes in the past based on their interaction with different institutions,” said Rewalt. “While you personally, or I personally, may not have been a part of that, that’s disappointing to know and to learn, but also to be aware of that so we can try to be better and be different.”

Edited by Mila Mascenik