Community garden for Lenoir County, North Carolina

What We Do

Our approach

We are not a charity. We run our non-profit organization like a business. Profits generated by programs like our metal recycling service help to cover operating costs, and reduce our organization's dependence on donations and grants. Unlike a business, our social enterprise aims to achieve results that yield two outcomes in addition to the economic ones (profit): social (people) and environmental (planet) benefits. This framework or strategy is known as the triple bottom line approach. We design our programs and evaluate their performance based on this framework.

By reconnecting residents to area's food and farming traditions, our programs produce healthier communities and a more sustainable regional economy. We strive to inspire, engage and support residents of eastern North Carolina to grow food, enjoy the outdoors, and take personal responsibility for their neighborhood environments.

Through partnerships with schools, agencies, and businesses in our area, we seek to promote: healthier lifestyles, greener and cleaner neighborhoods, and a more sustainable economy

Whole Food

Community Gardening &
Greening Initiatives

Whole People

Educating & Empowering

Whole Communities

Advocacy & Networking

Who we serve

We strive to serve vulnerable youth and their families throughout Greene, Jones and Lenoir counties. We believe that improving the lives of our youngest citizens can improve the quality of life for us all.

Organic Community Garden & Orchard - By increasing food production in a designated food desert, Common Ground ENC aims to improve access to healthy, affordable food and increase community food security.

The East Vernon Neighborhood Garden offers residents of the adjacent, impoverished neighborhood the opportunity to learn where their food comes from, how to grow their own food, and learn sustainable methods of cultivation. While they grow their own groceries, they are enjoying outdoor physical exercise through gardening. It is the designated Nourishing NC community garden for Lenoir County.
The organic orchard is planted in heirloom apple and pear trees, figs, and plums. The understorey of the orchard is covered by a living ground cover comprised of native wildflowers like Queen Anne's Lace and Showy Crotalaria.

Educational Apiary - Our bees pollinate our gardens and orchard, and produce some delicious honey! Here residents can observe beekeepers working the hives and attend workshops to learn about the importance of pollinators and bees. Our Neu-bees program creates income-earning opportunities for under-served Kinston youth by teaching them about entrepreneurship and small business development through the design and operation of a beekeeping business.

Metal Recycling Service - We recycle soda (aluminum) and steel cans from local restaurants and households.
Drop your aluminium or steel cans off at our recycle trailer parked at 408 N. Herritage St. in Kinston, or click on the "New Service" button to request cart placement and regular pickup for your business.

Thanks to the local businesses which currently support this enterprise:
Mary's Soup Kitchen, Tands, Inc., White and Allen Law Firm, Pizza Villa, Piggly Wiggly, King's Restaurants, and Signature Healthcare.

Our green space initiative

Five years ago, we started a community-based effort to transform five abandoned, FEMA-mitigated acres into an attractive green space. This ambitious “placemaking” initiative to create a quality public space in a designated food desert will contribute to resident’s health, happiness, and well being.

We were fortunate to be able to hire the world-renown landscape architect, Robyn Moore, of the Natural Learning Initiative based at North Carolina State University. Moore and his design team lead a participatory design process, and created a comprehensive design for our unusual public park project.

We call our project the “food park,” and here’s what it will feature:

Neighborhood Park – a safe, attractive space, close to people’s homes, where residents of all ages and abilities can enjoy nature, engage in physical activities, and connect socially;
Community Food Resource – an city farm that provides residents opportunities to grow their own healthy food for meals and market;
Natural Play & Learning Space - a new community resource where children of all ages and abilities can play and learn by engaging with nature near their homes, and serves to advance STEM learning and the educational missions of nearby schools.

We have a new, long-term lease with the City of Kinston and now can go forward with our Food Park goals. A walking track around the property has been surveyed and marked. Now we just need funding to make it happen! Help us out!

Where we work

Right now, our work is focused in Kinston. As we grow, we plan to expand our community-based work to engage people around food to Greene and Jones counties.
Most of our programs take place at our "food park." Below is a map that shows its location. If you are in town, you can take Vernon Avenue east, past Grainger Stadium, and continue through intersection at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Park will be on your left. If you are coming to Kinston, just get on Highway 11. Our Park is located on the northeastern or Greenville side of town.

PARKING - Most visitors arrive at our site from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard (NC Highway 11). Turn right onto Laura Lane, and then turn into first paved driveway on the right (identified in map as "Biggs Ave"). You can park in the grassy lot at the corner of Laura Lane and Biggs Avenue being careful not to block the entrances into grassy space. Additional parking is available on East Vernon Avenue.