• By Jeffrey Cates
• Posted Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Tool Lending Program

Forsyth County, North Carolina is a supporter of urban agriculture. Legacy 2030, the comprehensive plan for Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, recommends encouraging healthy food production in urban areas as well as rural areas. It also calls for removing barriers to using urban land and buildings for various forms of urban agriculture production. Additionally, the City of Winston-Salem adopted an Urban Agriculture Ordinance on May 4, 2015, to encourage urban food production and gardens in areas throughout the City. The N.C. Cooperative Extension Forsyth County Center (NCCE) is a key partner in that support of urban agriculture. Research-based solutions from North Carolina's land grant universities, NCSU and NC A&T, are provided through the NCCE staff in Forsyth County. Consultations on applying research and solving agricultural challenges are available and administered by the NCCE at 1450 Fairchild Rd, Winston-Salem NC 27105. Urban agriculture has the inherent means to enrich the agri-economy, build community, and increase food security within Forsyth County. Several successful urban agriculture programs that bear mentioning are the Forsyth County Center's Urban Farm School, Master Gardener Volunteer and Community Gardens Programs.

One underpinning of NCCE Forsyth County Center's urban agriculture support role is its tool lending program. We provide access to many urban agriculture tools.

The Potential Role of a tool lending program.

Support—community gardens and local urban growers avoid incurring the capital cost of tools that aren't currently in their budget
Convene—brings together community stakeholders
Educate/Outreach—when community members visit NCCE for tool lending they can also avail themselves of other urban agriculture educational offerings
Demonstrate—our knowledgeable staff are available to demonstrate proper tool usage and maintenance.
Develop programs/services—the tool lending program acts as an active support to the current NCCE horticulture programs and services

As you care for your ornamental and edible horticulture projects at home or in a community garden, consider our tool lending program a resource for you. The lending policy provides tools without charge. A refundable deposit and a signed commitment to a timely return are required for tool lending. More information about the availability of this program is available here.

Download the Tool Lending Form.