Episode Outline

Zack Wyatt joined the table his amazing organization that is trying to empower community and strengthen the local food systems!

Full Episode Show Notes are Available on our website at https://www.giveimpact.org/podcast-

0:29 Welcome Back!

2:30 Intro to Zack Wyatt

9:33 Zack shares how he met his wife Abby and how he got into farming

13:11 Zack mentions that “There’s a big motto we have within the organization, once you know, you can’t unknow”

14:09 Zack expresses his lens on the propaganda around the food system

· We get 50-60% of produce from Mexico

· We get 30% of produce from Canada

17:09 Zack shares one Authentic thing about himself, “You get what I am, there’s no other version”

19:40 Maya invitesZack to pull an Affirmation Card. “I celebrate all the greatness in my life”

20:25 Zack shares one of his favorite phrases, “there’s tons of opportunity in chaos”

21:53 Liz and Zack reflect on the challenges of owning and growing business

23:27 Zack drops a gem, “growing doesn’t have to be just up, it can be out. It can be understanding and building capacity before taking the next leap or you can take the next leap and hope that the capacity comes. The only thing that’s going to win is perseverance”

23:23 Zack expresses “We need the big system players on some levels because if we can get them to change their supply chain a bit, we can change the world fast”

26:03 Maya asks Zack to dive more into the mission and origin story of the Carolina Farm Trust

28:35 Zack drops another gem “It’s a system thing; you’re never going to solve food insecurity by focusing on food insecurity. The amount of food insecure people is always going to be more than what you have available”

31:06 Liz shares her lens on capitalism & philanthropy

35:04 Zack shares a nugget of what scientists are saying, “we have about enough topsoil for another 34 years”

35:15 Liz and Zack discuss the importance of composting and gives information about Crown town Compost

· https://www.crowntowncompost.com/

37:14 Liz asks Zack to talk about what a Regional Food Economy is. He breaks down the ecosystem and logical solutions to how it can be improved and the things that people can do every day to make a difference.

44:43 Maya asks Zack, where do you see the future of our food system going?

48:31 Liz asks Zack to share information about the current programs that he has in Charlotte that are making an impact on the community

· Phase I: CFT Market in West Charlotte

· Phase II: Retail grocery store, teaching kitchen, and processing center, and a mobile grocery store

· Fundraising: $1.5 MM short-term for operations

o Total Capital Spend: $8.2MM

You can donate at: https://carolinafarmtrust.org/