12/13/2025
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
Today we worked the fields for our final big harvest haul. Alvamir's (our son and the assistant farmer) smile was big! This has been a remarkable year. A year of early mornings and long days. A year of planting hope, harvesting resilience, and showing up even when it would have been easier not to. We didn't miss one market. Yes! A year of growth in our fields and in our community.
There is so much to be proud of. And so much to celebrate with you.
We grew food with intention. We welcomed new faces to the farm. We strengthened partnerships and expanded programs. We fed families. We taught adults and youth. We created space for learning, healing, and connection. We hosted two beautiful farm-to-table experiences, one on our Charlotte farm and one in Monroe, each rooted in land, food, and togetherness.
One of the most unforgettable moments this year happened at an elementary school career fair. My son and I watched children's eyes widen as they realized that farming is a real job. A noble one. And that the people who grow their food look like them. We watched them imagine themselves as future producers, feeding their own communities. That is a future worth protecting.
That spirit of learning carried beyond the farm family this year. We partnered with UNC Charlotte, first with students in a marketing class who helped us think more deeply about how we share our story, and now with architecture students who are on the land designing and building an EcoDome alongside us. Watching young people study, design, and build in relationship with the land reminds us that farming is not stuck in the past. It is actively shaping the future.
This year, we packed boxes of fresh produce for seniors in our community, because food sovereignty means everyone eats with dignity. We stood at our market booth week after week, sharing recipes, growing tips, and conversations that slowly turned strangers into neighbors.
And we did all of this while navigating the realities most farmers know well. Unpredictable weather. Shifting markets. Rising supply costs. We did it as first-generation farmers, learning in real time, alongside our children and alongside other Charlotte and Mecklenburg County farmers.
This year, people took notice. And while the recognition was humbling, what mattered most was knowing that people in our community sees the work, values it, and keeps showing up.
When we think about the importance of farming today, we're reminded of The Lorax, a book I've been reading to my children for nearly twenty years now, from my oldest at 27 to my youngest at 8. The Once-ler wasn't evil. He was opportunistic. He didn't start out intending harm. He just didn't slow down to consider the consequences of extraction without stewardship. And the Lorax? He spoke for the trees, yes, but also for the people who would one day feel the loss.
Farmers sit right in the middle of that story.
We are the ones saying: it doesn't have to be this way. We are the ones choosing regeneration over depletion, care over convenience, and the care over shortcuts. We are the ones proving that food can be grown responsibly, locally, and with deep respect for land and people. We are the ones stewarding relationships and creating connection through food.
The Once-ler's world ended in silence. No more trees, no more songs, no more life. But that's not our story. Our story is one of abundance. Of mushrooms fruiting in winter. Of collards standing strong through the winter. Of a community that refuses to let local food systems fade into memory.
Farming is not just about what we grow. It's about what we protect. It's about what we pass on.
And this year, you were part of that story. Every purchase, every conversation at the table, every shared recipe, every visit to the farm helped affirm that this work matters. So thank you. Truly.
Now, let's celebrate. Here's what we'll have for you this Saturday:
~ This Week's Harvest ~
Arugula, beets, butternut squash, carrots, collards, chard, baby kale, curly kale, lettuce mix, mustard greens, wasabina mustard greens, green onions, hot peppers (various varieties), radishes, sweet potatoes - Covington, O’Henry (white), and Purple.
Herbs: Parsley, Mint, Rosemary, Curry, Eucalyptus
Specialties: Eggs and Black Garlic
Mushrooms: Oyster, Shiitake, and Lions Mane
Signature Drinks: Ginger Mint Lemonade & Sorrel Harmony (Hibiscus) Drink, and Golden Milk
CSA - Reminder
Please remember that your last share of the year is available for pick up this Saturday December 13. Text or email if you have questions.
Winter Market Schedule
The Uptown Winter Market begins Saturday, January 17 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. We will miss the first market while spending time with family during the MLK holiday weekend, but you can find us there the following Saturday, January 24.
For more information about our markets, visit: deeprootscpsfarm.com/markets
🍽️ Farm-to-Table Reflection
A Table Set With Intention
We are deeply grateful to Chef Greg Collier, Chef Chayil Johnson, and Chef Carl Brown, and to the friends and family who gathered with us to transform our harvest into an unforgettable shared experience. We'll be sharing a recap video and photos soon. Follow along on Facebook or Instagram.
Community Partnership Update
One of the things we love most about this work is who it connects us to.
Right now, students from UNC Charlotte’s architecture program are on the farm, rolling up their sleeves and bringing their designs to life through a hands-on design-build project. The EcoDome has been designed and constructed as part of the ongoing project, “Roots of Change: Community-Engaged Planning and Sustainable Agriculture in Charlotte,” funded by a Gambrell Faculty Fellowship (https://www.instagram.com/p/DPeGp6CE6YL/) .
There has been a lot of learning through this project. Students have engaging directly with land, climate, materials, and purpose. They've imagining what regenerative spaces can look like in a very innovative way.
We’re honored to be a living classroom and excited to see what grows from this collaboration.
This season ends, but the work continues. Thank you for standing with us, caring deeply, and helping grow something that matters.
In community,
Cherie, Wisdom & The Deep Roots CPS Farm Family
Click here for an update from Deep Roots CPS Farm!
