FAISON, N.C. – The sun is shining and the roosters are crowing at 12:03AM Farm, and the McKoy family is enjoying the sights and sounds together.

When you step onto their property, it’s easy to see how the endeavor is a family affair.

Despite all of the growth you see, Darius McKoy says it wasn’t always this way for their two children.

What You Need To Know

  •  The Department of Agriculture has a grant program aimed at helping small farms

  •  The grant helps with infrastructure and equipment that will benefit small farms in the food supply chain

  •  Shameeka and Darius McKoy are hoping they are one of the many farms to receive a grant

  • They hope to build a grocery store on their property, bringing together products from surrounding farms

“When we brought them out, they did not have the vision. They didn't see it,” McKoy said. “It's been amazing to be able to not only build it with them and not have to explain what vision is, but for them to be able to see it themselves and see it come to fruition has been amazing.”

Shameeka and Darius McKoy are both retired from the Air Force, serving a combined 42 years with nine combat tours between them. They’re used to hard work.

Even though Shameeka says she never saw herself as a farmer, this work has changed their lives.

It’s been therapeutic for both mind and body.

“Farming and gardening, it just changes your mood. It changes your vision and the way that you looked at your food, and taking care of your body,” said Shameeka McKoy.

The farm has grown more than they expected, and they’ve put in the work to get here. The couple has taken part in apprenticeships, learning from experts and growing their community.

It’s that community that they now want to be able to bring together and give back to.

They’re hoping to be one of the small farms across that state that will get some relief from a North Carolina Department of Agriculture grant, which aims to help small farms with food chain infrastructure and equipment.

The more than $6 million grant hopes to help small farms “strengthen the middle of the food supply chain.”

The McKoys want to transform a barn on their property into a building that serves, in part, as a grocery store where local farmers can sell their products.

“The impact for this particular grant for us would be, would be huge. As a first generation of farmers, we don't have all the infrastructure that's required,” Darius McKoy said. “To have the opportunity to apply and get something essential, such as cool storage, would be phenomenal for us.”

The grant application is open through June 15. For more information, click here.