FarmerJawn: Educating Philly’s Urban Farmers
FarmerJawn Agriculture is an urban farming operation based in Philadelphia, focused on decreasing food insecurity by increasing organic foodways for black and brown communities. Farmerjawn founder Christa Barfield engages the community by running a Greenery, an urban farm and a CSA in low socioeconomic areas.
By Kenny Cooper
Why PBS
April 15, 2022
Excerpt:
Now in full bloom, Barfield is the founder and chief executive officer of FarmerJawn Agriculture, a culmination of projects with the goal of “reintroducing farming into the lifestyles of urban people.” Most notably among those projects, finding a home for FarmerJawn at the Elkins Estate.
The five acres of the historic property in Elkins Park, just minutes outside of Philadelphia, have recently become the “biggest part” of Barfield’s operation. She moved her operation onto the property in October 2021, where they will be using the greenhouses and land to farm a wide variety of crops like lettuce and radishes.
“Farming should not be this obscure idea and feel like it’s a journey that you have to go to. You eat every single day. So there’s a farmer that’s responsible for that food that you’re partaking of. And I really want our community to be more mindful of what we’re putting into our bodies for the health of not just ourselves, but the people that come after us,” Barfield said, standing next to a recently tilled plot of land.
While FarmerJawn makes its money from its community-supported agriculture (CSA) farm set up and other business ventures, it has recently jumped into the fray as a nonprofit that seeks to educate people about how to farm and where their food comes from.
