Our roots run deep, our future grows bright
Discover the story of Kin & Flo Farm, where land, legacy, and community intertwine to cultivate not just food, but a vibrant future for High Point, NC. Learn about our journey, our values, and the people who make it all possible.
From ancestral land to Kin & Flo Farm
The inspiration for Kin & Flo Farm springs directly from the land itself, deeply tied to 200 years of family history within the Florence community of High Point, NC. This connection is especially poignant given the widespread loss of Black-owned land due to displacement, debt, and gentrification. After sitting fallow for nearly two decades, this land has been lovingly restored to become Kin & Flo Farm.
Our ancestors were integral to building the Florence community over five generations, contributing as farmers, financiers, community organizers, and educators. My great-great-grandparents provided crucial financial and labor support to maintain Turner's Chapel AME Church, and my great-grandparents helped establish Florence Elementary School. This profound rootedness instilled a sense of responsibility beyond personal interest. Starting the farm is an act of honoring their legacy and ensuring its continuation.
My background in nonprofit work and public health provided a framework and deeper understanding of the social determinants of health, ultimately guiding me towards the principles of food sovereignty.
Our unique heritage and values
What makes Kin & Flo Farm unique? We are founded by a 5th-generation farmer on ancestral land, carrying a 200-year family legacy that includes both enslaved and free people. We partner with local institutions, two of which have direct ties to generations of our family. Our focus is on Afro and Indigenous agrarian practices, foods, and cultural traditions that have sustained communities for centuries.
We produce culturally specific, heirloom crops and train the next generation of Black farmers through hands-on, long-format, cooperative-modeled workforce training programs. Our core beliefs center on food and land sovereignty, justice, collective action, and education.
Our values are:
- Community: Cooperative development, shared resources, and direct food access are not just additions—they are fundamental to our mission.
- Legacy: Black agricultural knowledge is sacred and essential. Preserving it is not nostalgic; it is an act of sovereignty.
- Resilience: Holding and activating this land in a gentrifying community is an act of resistance. We farm to ensure the next 200 years thrive just as the last have.
At the heart of it all, we believe land is liberation.
The people behind the farm
Kin & Flo Farm is spearheaded by Nia Kiara Cole, a 5th-generation farmer, whose vision is brought to life with the invaluable support of family, friends, and a network of dedicated partners. These include the Persimmons Collective Fund, Thrive 2.0, Growing High Point, The Triad Black Faith Leaders & Black Farmers Network, Village Farmer Fund, RAFI-Southeast, A&T University, Guilford County FSA and NRCS, The Congdon Family Foundation, and the broader Florence Community.
Together, this collective effort fuels our mission and helps us cultivate a brighter future for our land and community.
Kin & Flo Farm: nourishing High Point, NC
Kin & Flo Farm is deeply woven into the fabric of the Florence community in High Point, NC. We don't just operate here; we actively nourish it. Our fresh produce directly supports TC Community Table's soup kitchen at Turner's Chapel AME Church, serving 80–100 families weekly, and reaches more through Growing High Point's mobile market. We provide beginning farmers with hands-on training, shared tools, and cooperative networks, lowering barriers to agricultural careers.
By holding, restoring, and activating 200-year-old family land in a gentrifying neighborhood, Kin & Flo Farm stands as a visible act of community rootedness and resistance against displacement. We are proud to be a source of fresh food, education, and community empowerment.