2025 Annual Report
We hit the ground digging in 2025, fertilized by the success of our Future Farms Fund – this allowed us to increase our team capacity to five and purchase our top notch BCS tractor – lovingly referred to as “The Italian Stallion.” Our Future Farms planning committee advanced our partnership with the City of Raleigh’s Parks Recreation and Cultural Resources Department and we announced our expansion to Marsh Creek Park in November! This additional 1.5 acre site will further our mission to “connect and nourish the community through regenerative agriculture” by growing and distributing more healthy food and engaging surrounding neighbors in hands-on gardening experiences. We’re very excited to meet our new neighbors!
Behind the scenes, our strategic planning committee worked diligently to survey stakeholders and gather feedback to inform our 2026-2029 plan. Five strategic pillars will guide our work: 1) Strengthening Multi-Site Stewardship & Sustainability, 2) Deepening Community Engagement, Education & Belonging, 3) Cultivating Leadership, Learning & Organizational Health, 4) Ensuring Financial Resilience and Sustainable Growth, and 5) Elevating Storytelling, Brand & Public Awareness.
We doubled down on regenerative and climate resilient practices to ensure healthier soil and plants, refined crop rotation and interplanting, and increased the use of cover crops. New testing methods confirmed the health of our soil, resulting in a harvest of ~10,000 lbs and 9 cubic yards of compost; top growers were tomatoes, carrots, turnips, beets and cabbage. Over 40% of our yield was shared with our nonprofit partners through our Farmshare program, the remainder was sold at our seasonal Pay-What-You Can Farmstand.
We offered new education and engagement activities including our First Saturday Series that offered free workshops, workdays, tours, lunch and the BIG Blooms mural installation and Farm Camp in our Murphy’s Naturals Teaching Garden. Community workdays, tours and Wine+Weeds activities were at capacity and we hosted pop-up events including yoga classes with EB Athletics. This growth was possible due to expanded team capacity including our outstanding Farm Managers Maria Williford and Colleen Yeager, CEFS Apprentice Peyton Purvis, Program Coordinator Anton Fatula and nine outstanding interns who gained invaluable skills and experience.
Behind the scenes, our dedicated board and advisory council guided our work with their time, talents and treasure. Generous support from partners and funders was critical to fertilizing our growth and success and is setting us up for success.
We’re excited to celebrate our 15th anniversary in 2026 as we seed our second location at Marsh Creek Park. In 2011, Raleigh City Farm was an aspirational project dreamed up by our founders. Fifteen years later, our mission to “connect and nourish our community through regenerative agriculture” is alive and well, grounded in our core values of nutrition, integrity, solidarity and resilience and supported by our caring, dedicated community.
With deep appreciation,
Lisa Grele Barrie
Executive Director
2025 by the numbers
2025 by the photos
