Urban Community AgriNomics (UCAN)

Catawba Trail Farm | Durham, NC

Growing Communities One Seed at a Time!

Nurturing Nature, Nourishing Communities

UCAN’s Commitment to Fresh Food Access

Urban Community AgriNomics (UCAN) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded April 29th, 2016 by sisters, Delphine Godley Sellars and Lucille Godley Patterson. This organization reflects their desire to engage the community of Northern Durham with skills based in agriculture and providing a place for those within the community to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. UCAN has donated over 60,000lbs of fresh vegetables and fruits, through local harvesting and gleaning events sponsored by the Society of St. Andrews. UCAN provides opportunities for a diverse group of board members and volunteers.

 A partnership with Triangle Land Conservancy (TLC) led to a User License Agreement, resulting in the creation and development of the Catawba Trail Farm.

I CAN, WE CAN, UCAN!

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I CAN, WE CAN, UCAN! -

Our Mission

Urban Community AgriNomic’s mission is to improve the health and wellness of our community. Our programs shall provide education on healthy lifestyles, seed-to-table food preparation and preservation, and hands-on STEM and agricultural skills. We empower Durham families with access to resources to grow their own healthy food using sustainable practices in a supportive environment.

Upcoming events.

Urban Community AgriNomics (UCAN) has a great lineup of events and programs! From educational workshops to community outreach initiatives, there are plenty of opportunities for you to join us in making a positive impact. Explore our calendar to find out more about upcoming events and learn how you can get involved in supporting our mission of promoting sustainable agriculture and fostering community resilience.

Be sure to check out our schedule of 2024 food distributions! Swing by the Catawba Trail Farm to pick up your box of FREE, fresh North Carolina-grown produce. UCAN is grateful for the opportunity to serve the community with nutritious, locally sourced produce.

Follow us on social media

Follow us on social media

View fullsize UCAN welcomed the children from Randy’s 5 Star Academy to the Catawba Trail Farm earlier this month! Alongside their parents and teachers, they immersed themselves in gardening activities, creating projects to take home. It was a truly beautifu
View fullsize UCAN’s first Spring Egg Hunt at the Catawba Trail Farm was wonderful! We were happily surprised by the turnout and will now make this an annual event. It was such a joy seeing the happiness and excitement of the youth and their parents. What a
View fullsize Join us at the Catawba Trail Farm for a Saturday Volunteer Day tomorrow, April 27th (9am - 12pm)! 🌱🌞 It’s a fantastic opportunity to get involved, connect with nature, and make a difference in our community. We’d love to see you there!
View fullsize Yet another successful collaboration between UCAN and @earthsharenc for their annual corporate volunteer day! We’re thrilled to have had the dedicated teams from Sports Endeavors and Bailey & Dixon join us at the Catawba Trail Farm. Their h
View fullsize TOMORROW, April 25th (10am - 12pm) swing by the Catawba Trail Farm for UCAN’s Food Distribution! 🌽🍎 Don’t miss out on your chance to pick up FREE and fresh NC produce. We hope to see you there! _______ Support UCAN’s impactful i
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View fullsize UCAN’s Executive Director, Delphine Sellars, presented at this year’s Duke Health Summit! 🌟 It was a fantastic day of networking and sharing insights on agriculture, environmental stewardship, and community empowerment. We’re proud
View fullsize UCAN’s first Food Distribution of 2024 was a success! Despite the weather, our dedicated volunteers served the community with FREE NC produce. This event also marked our partnership with @bennyboyfarm, offering FREE chickens through their PROTE
View fullsize Wow, what an incredible group of people! 🌟 We’re deeply thankful for each and every volunteer who joins us in our mission at Urban Community AgriNomics. Together, we’re making a real difference in our community! Join us at the Catawba T
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View fullsize “CCNC will be partnering with Urban Community Agrinomics (UCAN) to run a youth conservation crew, open to ages 15-18, based in Durham. This crew will work June 17th-July 5th for 8-hours a day, Monday-Friday. Participants will be part of a sma
View fullsize Shoutout to Justin, UCAN’s Associate Director, for collaborating closely with our DPS Scholars at-work students a couple of weeks ago! 🌟 These two were an incredible team, working diligently with us at the Catawba Trail Farm. The DPS Scholar

UCAN NEWS

BLACK EARTH MATTERS

This poster was created for Urban Community AgriNomics (UCAN) by Dr. McAdoo and his graduate students. Isn’t it wonderful?

 We’d love for you to take a moment and read through this ‘Black Earth Matters: Soil Justice and Black Farms in North Carolina’ poster, and dive deep into the history of The Catawba Trail Farm, soil and geology information, and the issue of food insecurity.

OWNERSHIP OF THE CATAWBA TRAIL FARM

Triangle Land Conservancy (TLC) transfers 176 acres in one of the region’s largest transfers of land trust property to an African American led nonprofits.

Donate

Donate

All funds raised support Catawba Trail Farm in its mission to support a more resilient community through agricultural and environmental education, increasing access to fresh and nutritious foods, preservation of our shared histories and fostering economic opportunities for growers of all ages especially in Northern Durham. 

Current fundraising projects include:

· Historical restoration of the Intergenerational House and Millwright Building, including the creation of an open-air farmers’ market.

· Expansion of our growing operations through the clearing of two forested acres.

· Supporting the YouthCAN garden’s STEAM programming for local youth enrichment.

· Continued restoration of dozens (and counting) probable gravesites of enslaved Africans.

· Helping us always have cash on hand to support a working farm!

TESTIMONIES

Discover the stories of those whose lives have been touched by UCAN. From community members to volunteers, learn how UCAN's programs and initiatives have made a positive impact in their lives and the community as a whole.

Rose

“What you guys weren't aware of this morning when I asked for the additional box for the lady who had breast cancer surgery was she telephoned me yesterday and asked me to bring her some fruit. She gave me her list. When I saw you guys included muscadines and apples I was overcome with emotions. I said the Holy Spirit "ain't" no joke! Those two among some others were on her list. Here I am helping someone and the Holy Spirit helped me to help her. How powerfully cool is that?

Now let me tell you what I prepared. With the zucchini I made zucchini pie with a phyllo crust and zucchini soup. The kale will be prepared the African way. All good!!!!!

Words will never convey my gratitude for what you all do for the community. 

Much love and continued success.......”

Donald R.

My wife and I have been looking to get into gardening. At first, we were going to take a class, but figured why not make sure it's something we want to do before investing hundreds of dollars. My Wife found Catawba Trail Farm from their Instagram page. We saw they had a volunteer program and thought it would be cool to try it out since we live close by.  WOW!   All I can say is, this place was so much fun, we were surprised at how open everybody was! I was expecting to be put to work and maybe learn a few things in the process. We got much more than we expected!  There were a few other volunteers but not many, Duke university had some students there and they were teaching a class, I got to listen in!  We got to really learn a lot. The group here really does operate like a big family farm, the history of this farm is really touching. It used to be a slave plantation; my ancestors came from the south so it was moving to see all races together for the good of the land. I have been looking for this kind of a feeling in North Carolina since I moved here from California. I have visited farms back in California but the history of these farms makes this place feel more like Holy land as opposed to just a farm!  When you come here you will see, it is a life changing experience. I learned how to work with the compost, which is what they use on their garden beds. I will be taking off work every weekend to come down and volunteer. It is therapeutic and I could not imagine a better place to learn the skills of agriculture, at the Catawba farms. Mrs. Lucille was super; she even invited my 5 year old daughter to come back so they can teach her how to grow vegetables too! Last but not least they have everything there, soil, beds, tools and they are super generous and willing to teach you everything they know. What more can you ask for! The Soul of this place is so Amazing, I feel like I am making my ancestors proud every time I come to the Catawba Trail Farm, this beautiful piece of land! Please don’t hesitate to visit this place if you are in North Carolina. You must come down and see this beautiful farm!”