Newton, Aaron

Kane, Nicholas, I

Charlotte, North Carolina

J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections & University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

2019-03-29

1 audio file (54:20) : digital, MP3 [include + 1 transcript (26 pages)]

sound recording-nonmusical

spoken word

eng

Aaron Newton was a 44-year-old man at the time of the interview, which took place at Lomax Farms in Concord, North Carolina. He was born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1975. He was educated at North Carolina State College of Design where he earned his degree in Landscape Architecture, and was employed as the Lomax Farm Manager for the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association. Mr. Newton is the coauthor of A Nation of Farmers: Defeating the Food Crisis on American Soil, (New Society Publishers, 2009). He is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Cabarrus County Farm and Food Council, and a past member of the Board of Directors of the Piedmont Farmers Market. He previously served as the Development Coordinator for the Cannon Memorial YMCA Share the Harvest Community Farm, and he serves on the Executive Steering Committee for the Children WIN - Wellness Initiative Network for Atrium Health Care System Northeast.

Aaron Newton is a food advocate and native of Concord, North Carolina. He works as the Lomax Farm Manager for the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, where he oversees new farmer training and coordinates other participants at the Elma C. Lomax Research and Education Farm in Concord. Mr. Newton also serves as an Ambassador for Steward, a business platform that helps small-to-midsize sustainable farmers raise financing through online crowdfunding and promotes agricultural research. In this interview he discusses urban farming and the future of farming in the United States. Topics covered by Mr. Newton include his involvement with the Village of Blume project, which was planned as an eco-sustainable community in Harrisburg, North Carolina and how it did not come to full fruition; the pitfalls and obstacles of urban farming in a big city, and some of the advantages such as proximity to customers; bringing the younger generation into farming and the idea of farming as a career; and his views on food and how it has been commodified. In concluding he reflects that a lack of connection with the natural world in modern life has brought some people, including the younger generation, back to farming and gardening.

MP3 access copy created on ingest from WAV preservation master. Interview originally recorded on a Zoom H4N digital recorder.

One phone call disturbance at 32:02, immediately paused and then resumed

Nonprofit organizations--Employees and/or Executives
Farmers

Newton, Aaron

Carolina Farm Stewardship Association
Elma C. Lomax Research & Education Farm

Urban agriculture
Agricultural education
Organic farming
Family farms

North Carolina--Charlotte
North Carolina--Pittsboro
North Carolina--Harrisburg

Interviews
Oral histories

2000-2020

The Queen’s Garden: Oral Histories of the Piedmont Foodshed

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audio/mpeg

QG-NE0025