About
Burkett Farm is an experiment in climate-smart land conservation and community impact through sustainable agriculture and design.
Founded in 2014 in Cary, North Carolina, Burkett Farm started as a modest garden growing organic vegetables to donate to local food banks. To this day, we continue to donate the majority of what we grow to feed the people in our community who are experiencing food insecurity.
As we’ve grown, we’ve increased the scope of our work to inspire people to participate in a local, regenerative food system. We do this through on-site experiences at our farm and through partnerships with non-profit groups, educators, chefs, and other farmers.
In the last decade, almost 20 percent of farmland in Wake County has been developed, while North Carolina ranks as the second-highest state in the nation for farmland loss. With these changes, the surrounding urban populations are losing access and exposure to local farms, and with it, the knowledge of how food is grown. Simultaneously, the impacts of climate change are rapidly changing the realities of farming, and one in five children in our state faces hunger on a regular basis.
We aim to show and share solutions for a more resilient food system through experimentation, education, and community partnerships.
WHAT WE PRACTICE
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On our four-acre farm, we cultivate and harvest vegetables and fruit, flowers, and herbs using methods that regenerate the land. We also keep a small flock of chickens and a honeybee colony. We borrow from organic, regenerative, and agro-ecological principles to guide our approach. Specific techniques that we follow include low/no tilling, using only OMRI-certified biological pesticides or herbicides, crop rotation, cover cropping, polyculture farming, and using organic seed.
On average, we grow more than 30 different types of vegetable crops and more than 50 different types of flowers in a year. -
We believe that everyone, no matter their income level, should have access to fresh, nutritious food. We donate the majority of our vegetable harvest to non-profit organizations that distribute it to food-insecure individuals in our community.
We also partner with local businesses like restaurants and florists; they purchase our products, which keeps their supply chain local, and we direct 100% of the proceeds back to anti-poverty groups.
We work with other farmers, educators, chefs, and organizers to host events for visitors and volunteers. We try to amplify the work of folks that we admire, and inspire people to invest, support, and engage in their local food system.
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On the farm, we’ve transitioned to primarily battery-operated equipment and tools and have reduced the use of plastics, such as plastic landscape cover, in our operations.
In 2023 we moved to renewable energy for powering most of our operations through the activation of the Container Barn’s off-grid power utility, made up of an 144-panel solar array and back-up battery storage.
We believe a strong local food system is the key to improving our environment, our health, and the economy.
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We believe a strong local food system is the key to improving our environment, our health, and the economy. 〰️
EXPLORE OUR FARM
The Farm
Our farm team cultivates vegetables, flowers, and herbs using sustainable, organic methods.
The Container Barn
The center of our on-site experiences, our Container Barn is an education center that showcases climate-smart design.
Our Team
Burkett Farm is the collaborative enterprise of shared passion and mission.
The agricultural operations of Burkett Farm are managed by Bland Landscaping Company. This local firm has been behind the vision of the farm since its earliest inception, and has developed a core group of full-time farm team members to oversee the growth and harvest of the farm’s land.
The Container Barn’s design, construction, and ongoing maintenance is managed by REdesign.build. This local Raleigh design and construction team worked to create a structure that is both highly practical and highly intentional in its design.