In collaboration with Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and Second Harvest Food Bank, Piedmont Community College (PCC) hosted a community garden building event at the Center for Educational and Agricultural Development (CEAD) in Pelham, NC on August 22.
With more than 40 volunteers of all ages, consisting of PCC employees, PCC Board of Trustees members, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle representatives, Second Harvest Food Bank representatives and the Caswell County Homeschoolers Association, 30 raised beds were built which will result in over 1,800 pounds of food annually for households in Caswell County.
The raised beds mark one of the first projects completed at CEAD which is the future home of PCC’s agricultural programs. Construction is slated to begin in November 2025 and will also include incubator farm plots and a food hub in partnership with 4P Foods.
The partnership between PCC, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and Second Harvest Food Bank was initiated by former PCC Interim President Dr. Kenneth Boham, who had previously collaborated with these organizations to establish community food gardens across North Carolina. Recognizing the alignment with PCC’s vision for CEAD, Boham saw the opportunity to bring the partnership to Caswell County. The event marked the largest single raised bed build to date for one of the partners, highlighting the powerful impact of this collaboration.
More events like this are planned at CEAD. PCC and its partners will host future community garden workdays, seedling planting days, harvest events and educational workshops for both adults and youth. These events will emphasize food security, hands-on agricultural education and community involvement. Once the site is fully secured, the community will be invited to sign up to use the boxes for free.
“This project is an incredible example of what can happen when community partners come together for a shared purpose,” Emily Buchanan, Executive Director of PCC’s Caswell County Campus said “These raised beds will provide fresh, healthy food for Caswell County families while also serving as a living classroom for our future agricultural programs at CEAD. We hope that community members will come out and use the beds to grow their own food, and who knows? Someone may decide to start their own ‘agri-preneurship’ because of this.”
For more information about CEAD, visit piedmontcc.edu/cead. Additional photos from the event can be found on PCC’s Facebook page.
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