The seed to Tri Cycle Farms was planted when two food insecure and underemployed friends decided to grow a garden. After speaking to 100 people to better understand their personal experience with food insecurity, they began to uncover some startling statistics of a city and county with the third highest rates of food insecurity in the state of Arkansas.
In 2011, Don Bennett, founder of TCF, purchased two acres behind his house and with a coalition of community volunteers, a farm-raising movement began. In October of 2011, the field was cleared by a volunteer force of a 119. The next day our former mayor tilled the soil and this urban heritage farm was reborn. An endeavor that started with two food insecure individuals has grown to over 1,000 engaged community members. These volunteers and talented collaborators have transformed a vision into an organization with a mission. TCF is a growing community through soil as we steward food awareness, education and empowerment. Our farm raising, event-based approach has drawn regional and state-wide attention as we create a sustainable community urban farm model that can be replicated anywhere.