DEEP GAP, N.C. — The FBI is looking into a threat involving a sign with racist language left at a peaceful community farm in Watauga County. The sign appeared just after Christmas Day, and shook up the owners, workers and patrons.
Kara Dodson is the executive director on the farm, and she had a dream of starting it on this acre in Triplett for years before getting it going. Just over a year ago, her dream changed from a farm that sold crops to one that gives back to the community.
They are now the nonprofit, Full Moon Farm Collective.
“It’s one thing to provide shelf stable food to people that need it but also to provide nutrient-dense food. It’s also a health issue,” Dodson said.
They donate nearly all of the food they make to places like Hunger and Health, The FARM Cafe and Hospitality House.
“In 2025, we donated over 1,300 pounds of vegetables,” Dodson said.
(Photo provided: Kara Dodson)
They use horses for therapy and have educational events at the farm to help people learn.
The day after Christmas their safe place turned scary when a sign was left in front of the farm.
“We don’t want to hold back from teaching people of color how to grow food in this county. We don’t want to be gatekeeping information because of racism,” Dodson said.
It’s something Full Moon Farm Collective Tommy Lee says was shocking. He works at the farm and says that in 15 years of living in Boone, he’s never experienced racism like this before.
“It kind of shook our sense of peace a little bit,” Tommy Lee said.
He says the vandals not only left the sign, but also stabbed the tires on their trailer. They have moved all of their horses from the farm for their safety, but now the FBI is involved and is investigating the threat.
According to Justice. Gov, there were 172 hate crimes in North Carolina based on race in 2023. It states that 58.5% of all bias-motivated crimes were due to race/ethnicity or ancestry in North Carolina.
“I had to look out for cars look out for different people walking around whereas my first instinct would be a wave and a smile, and now I’m second-guessing who might be in a car what their motives might be,” Lee said. “Nobody wants to live like that nobody likes to live like that.”
Lee is hoping they find out who did this soon so the mountains that he calls medicine can go back to feeling like just that again.
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Rose Eiklor
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