FLOCK TOGETHER...

"We have grown enthusiastically and now farm in several urban and rural locations in the greater Charlotte area, and have expanded to become a multiphase community garden development program at the Historic Savona Mill in the West End. With the help of dedicated volunteers and local farmers, we donate a substantial amount of produce to local food programs, operate youth led farmers’ markets and work to increase healthy food access and security to underserved neighborhoods throughout Charlotte."

Bernard Singleton, Founder/Creator of Bennu Gardens and Nebedaye Farms, Charlotte

I had the pleasure of meeting Jose Andres, the Michelin starred, James Beard recipient and self proclaimed "Accidental Humanitarian" in Sept '19 when he came to speak on our JWU campus here in Charlotte. This man is the walking definition of Service Before Self. From hurricanes in Puerto Rico to civil rights protests in Haiti, Chef Andres and his World Central Kitchen mobilize emergency kitchens and bring the food to the fight. He's served over 30 million meals in the wake of worldwide disasters, social conflicts and epidemics, including Covid-19. See what he and I have in common here.

"If you want to enjoy life and live life fully, Yes! Go beyond that line of comfort...then you will become very powerful, because you understand what's going on. And in the process, you are enriching yourself...one experience at a time" - Chef Andres on being a part of something bigger than yourself, JWU Charlotte

It was at this North Carolina based consortium in the Spring of '19 that I first began to realize that I had to do something. A JWU professor I had in a leadership course saw something in me, even before I did, and encouraged me to participate in this 2 day conference of food and faith leaders in Charlotte and her surrounding areas. Surrounded by an unquenchable flame for food equity, I knew I couldn't leave the same way I'd come. Thank You, Lisa Kendall, for reminding me I'm a mover and a shaker. 

Thank God for the people who have poured into me. 

RAFI-USA’s Come to the Table program is best known for hosting conferences, gatherings, and community conversations that bring together faith leaders and laypeople, hunger relief advocates, farmers, farm workers, school nutrition directors, and others to find mutually beneficial solutions to food insecurity. We engage churches and community based organizations to deepen their level of engagement and help move them towards strategies and systemic solutions that address the root causes of hunger and poverty using an equity lens.