> HI, I’M JENNA FLANAGAN OF ‘METROFOCUS.’

FARMING P IN AMERICA HAS BEEN ONE OF THE PUREST AND HONEST FORMS OF LABOR.

IT’S WORK THAT’S CONSIDERED NOBLE AND MANLY.

THANKS TO MORE THAN A CENTURY OF AMERICAN IKEOGRAPHY, IT’S CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH WHITE MEN.

IF YOU PEEL BACK THE MYTH OF AMERICAN FARMING, YOU’LL FIND A MUCH MORE COMPLICATED AND NUANCED NARRATIVE, ONE THAT THE FOUNDERS, RISING GROUP FARM IN CHESTER, NEW YORK, ARE HOPING TO NOT ONLY CELEBRATE BUT SHARE IN A MORE HONEST FASHION.

SO AS PART OF OUR ‘CHASING THE DREAM’ INITIATIVE, EXAMINING POVERTY IN AMERICA.

I’M JOINED BY KAREN WASHINGTON, ONE OF THE CO-FOUNDERS OF RISING GROUP FARMS.

WELCOME TO ‘METROFOCUS.’

THANK YOU FOR JENNA.

I’M SURE A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE HEARING ABOUT THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME.

WHAT IS RISING GROUP FARM, HOW DOES IT COME INTO EXIST.

THE RISING ROOT FARM IS ALL WOMEN, TWO OF US ARE WOMEN OF COLOR, TWO OF US ARE WHITE WOMEN.

THE FOUR OF US ARE ROOTED IN FOOD JUSTICE AND WE GOT OUR START FROM DOING COMMUNITY GARDEN WORK IN NEW YORK CITY.

AND THROUGH WORKING THE COMMUNITY GARDEN AND BECOMING GOOD FRIENDS, ONE DAY WE WANT TO FARM TOGETHER.

WE WANT TO FARM TOGETHER TO SCALE UP, BUT ALSO TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE HAS A RIGHT TO FRESH LOCAL PRODUCE.

SO WE TOOK THIS JOURNEY.

TO BE HONEST, IT WAS A TWO-YEAR JOURNEY GOING UP AND DOWN THE HUDSON VALLEY IN NEW YORK AND FINALLY STUMBLING ON CHESTER, NEW YORK, WHERE WE ARE NOW.

WE HAVE THREE ACRES OF LAND.

IT’S IN THE BLACK DIRT, LITERALLY BLACK DIRT.

WE GROW THE BEST VEGETABLES BUT ALSO THERE’S A LITTLE —

WELL, ALSO, I WOULD WONDER, WHAT IS SIGNIFICANT ABOUT THE FOOD JUSTICE MOVEMENT THAT YOU’RE INVOLVED IN.

WE’VE DONE A LOT OF STORIES WHERE WE’VE TALKED ABOUT THE FACT THAT THERE ARE COMMUNITIES PARTICULARLY IN THE BRONX, VARIOUS NEIGHBORHOODS AND SOME OF THE OUTER BOROUGHS OF NEW YORK THAT ARE FOOD DESERTS WHERE PEOPLE CANNOT GET ACCESS TO FRESH, HEALTHY VEGETABLES.

FIRST OF ALL, WE WANTED TO TELL THE AUDIENCE, JENNA, DON’T USE THE WORD FOOD DESERT.

WHAT FOOD DESERT REALLY SAYS IS AN OUTSIDE TERM TO DENOTE THE FACT THAT THERE IS A LIMITED ACCESS TO FOOD.

WE DO HAVE FOOD.

WE HAVE UNHEALTHY FOOD, JUNK FOOD, PROCESSED FOOD, FAST FOOD.

WHAT WE’RE TRYING TO DO AT RISING ROOT IS TO FIRST OF ALL, PEEL AWAY OUR RESPONSIBILITY AND HISTORY AROUND FARMING.

FIRST OF ALL, IF YOU LOOK GLOBALLY, MOST SOUL FOOD FARMERS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD ARE WOMEN.

THAT’S NUMBER ONE.

NUMBER TWO, OUR HISTORY OF FOOD WAS DONE ON THE BACK OF ENSLAVED AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.

GROWING UP IN AMERICA, I WAS ALWAYS TAUGHT THAT FARMING WAS SLAVE LABOR UNTIL I STARTED TO PEEL BACK THE HISTORY AND FOUND OUT THE TRUTH, WHY WE WERE BROUGHT HERE WE WERE BROUGHT HERE BECAUSE OF OUR KNOWLEDGE OF AGRICULTURE.

WE BROUGHT THE SEEDS IN OUR HAND, THE FOUNDATION OF FOOD IN THIS COUNTRY.

ONCE YOU TELL PEOPLE ABOUT THAT, OUR PLACE IN AGRICULTURE, THE WHOLE NARRATIVE SHIFTS.

NOW YOU’RE EMBODIED WITH POWER, POWER TO GO BACK TO THE LAND, POWER TO GROW FOOD, POWER TO BE ABLE TO FEED YOUR OWN FAMILY.

THAT’S WHAT WE TRY TO DO AT RISING ROOT FARM.

WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO NOT ONLY — FIRST OF ALL, TELL THAT NARRATIVE AND THANK YOU, ALSO, FOR CLARIFYING, YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, THERE ARE NO DESERTS IN NEW YORK.

SERIOUSLY, THOUGH, TO NOT ONLY MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE CLEAR ON WHAT THE HISTORY OF FARMING IS, BUT ALSO THAT THIS IS ALSO WOMEN’S WORK.

AS YOU SAID, MOST FARMS ARE RUN BY WOMEN.

YES, IT IS WOMEN’S WORK AND IT’S A POWERFUL THING.

THE PROBLEM IS THAT, AGAIN, MOST OF THE POWER, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FARMING IS WITH WHITE MEN.

YET GLOBALLY, WOMEN ARE DOING THE WORK.

WHAT WE DO LACK IS, OF COURSE, CAPITAL, ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY AND ACCESS TO LAND.

BUT THAT’S STARTING TO CHANGE NOW BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE STARTING — ESPECIALLY PEOPLE OF COLOR, ARE STARTING TO GO BACK TO THE LAND BECAUSE THEY KNOW LAND WITHIN THEIR FAMILY IS LEGACY.

IT’S HISTORY.

KNOWING THE FACT THAT YOU CAN GROW YOUR OWN FOOD MAKES YOU POWERFUL.

SO, AGAIN, THAT’S A NARRATIVE THAT YOUNG PEOPLE ARE NOW CATCHING ON AND WANT TO GO BACK TO FARM.

NOW, OF COURSE, YOU WERE SAYING THAT RISING ROOT CAME OUT OF OR OUTGREW AN URBAN FARM IN THE CITY.

I’M WONDERING IF THAT FITS INTO A LARGER MOVEMENT, ESPECIALLY NOW WITH THE COVID CRISIS, WE’VE SEEN EVEN MORE PEOPLE INTERESTED IN KNOWING THEIR FOOD SUPPLY SOURCE, BEING ABLE TO GROW THEIR OWN FOOD IN A NEIGHBORHOOD PLOT OR BACK YARD IF THEY’RE ABLE TO.

IT HAS BEEN OVERWHELMING, THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE NOW REACHING OUT TO US AND OTHER URBAN GROWERS ABOUT COMING BACK TO THE LAND, HOW DO WE GET STARTED IN COMMUNITY GARDENS, HOW DO WE FIND LAND BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTAND AT THIS POINT IN TIME WITH THIS PANDEMIC, IT’S THE HEALTHY FOOD THAT’S GOING TO MAKE US BETTER.

FOOD IS MEDICINE.

SO PEOPLE NOW WANT TO KNOW, FIRST OF ALL, WHERE THEIR FOOD COMES FROM, WHO IS GROWING IT, IF IT WAS SPRAYED WITH PESTICIDES AND INSECTICIDES, AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT JUSTICE, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND FROM THE PERSON WHO PUTS THE SEED ON THE GROUND TO THE PLATE ON YOUR TABLE, THAT THE WORKERS HAVE BEEN TREATED HUMANELY AND PAID A FAIR WAGE.

AGAIN, YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT LAYERS UPON LAYERS THAT WE’RE LEARNING NOT JUST ABOUT THE FOOD THAT WE’RE EATING, BUT, OF COURSE, THE SUPPLY CHAINS AND SOME OF THE MASS INDUSTRIAL FARMS THAT THIS COUNTRY ALSO HAS.

I’M WONDERING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP TO FOOD.

AS YOU MENTIONED, IT’S NOT THAT THERE ISN’T FOOD IN A LOT OF THESE COMMUNITIES.

IT’S JUST BAD FOOD.

IT’S PROCESSED FOOD.

DOES RISING ROOT ALSO WORK WITH PEOPLE’S RELATIONSHIP TO FOOD?

FOR EXAMPLE, A LOT OF PEOPLE IF THEY JOIN A CSA THEY MIGHT GET A BOX EVERY WEEK AND THERE’S USUALLY SOMETHING IN THERE THAT YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS OR HOW TO COOK, WHAT IT TASTES LIKE, ET CETERA.

I WOULD ASSUME THE FURTHER YOU ARE FROM A RELATIONSHIP TO FRESH PRODUCE, THE MORE LIKELY YOU’LL FIND MORE VEGETABLES TO FEEL SORT OF FOREIGN.

RISING ROOT HAS BEEN A JOURNEY.

PEOPLE FROM THE CITY HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING UP, WHEN WE LEFT NEW YORK CITY UP TO CHESTER, NEW YORK, WE HAVE MAINTAINED OUR ROOTS IN THE CITY BECAUSE, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, ALL OF US ARE TEACHERS ARE FARM SCHOOL.

FARM SCHOOL IS AN URBAN AG SCHOOL THAT TEACHES PEOPLE HOW TO GROW FOOD, TEACHES PEOPLE THE RELATIONSHIP THEY SHOULD HAVE TO ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT WHERE THEIR FOOD COMES FROM, WHAT IS IT THAT THEY CAN USE WITHIN THEIR VICINITY?

WE TELL PEOPLE, YOU KNOW WHAT, IF YOU DON’T HAVE A COMMUNITY GARDEN, YOU CAN START GROWING ON A WINDOW SILL, A BACK YARD, FRONT YARD, SOMEBODY ELSE’S YARD.

WHAT THIS PANDEMIC HAS REALLY SHOWN IS THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FOOD AND HEALTH.

YOU HAD MENTIONED THE FACT — WE TALKED ABOUT A FOOD DESERT.

I LIKE TO TELL PEOPLE, WE DON’T CALL IT A FOOD DESERT.

I COINED THE TERM FOOD APARTHEID BECAUSE I WANT PEOPLE TO START THINKING ABOUT THE INTERSECTION OF FOOD ALONG RACE, ALONG DEMOGRAPHICS AND ALONG ECONOMICS.

WE NEED TO HAVE THOSE HARD CONVERSATIONS TO MAKE PEOPLE FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE TO BEING COMFORTABLE.

SO AT RISING ROOT WE HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS, WE HAVE WORKSHOPS.

PEOPLE COME TO OUR FARM NOT ONLY TO GROW — HELP GROW OUR FOOD AND TO SEE THE PROCESS OF GROWING FOOD, BUT THEY COME AND LISTEN TO OUR STORY BECAUSE OUR STORY IS THE AMERICAN STORY.

OUR STORY IS THE AMERICAN DREAM.

OUR STORY IS GIVING BACK TO OUR ANCESTORS WHO FOR SO LONG HAVE BEEN NAMELESS AND FACELESS.

WE’RE TRYING TO PUT A NAME AND A FACE TO THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE US.

WE STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF KINGS AND QUEENS.

WE WANT TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT.

IT SOUNDS LIKE RISING ROOT ISN’T JUST A TEACHING FARM OR PERHAPS IS A TEACHING FARM IN A LARGER SENSE WHERE YOU’RE NOT JUST TEACHING ABOUT FARMING AND SHARING THAT KNOWLEDGE, BUT ALSO THE HISTORY OF FARMING.

FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, HOW DO YOU THINK THE NARRATIVE GOT SO DRIVEN IN A VERY SINGULAR DIRECTION ABOUT WHO IS A FARMER IN AMERICA?

IT BOILS DOWN TO POWER DYNAMICS.

THAT’S ALL IT DOES.

IT BOILS DOWN TO POWER DYNAMICS OF A GROUP OF PEOPLE HAVING POWER OVER OTHERS.

SO WHAT WE’RE TRYING TO DO IS PEEL BACK THAT POWER NARRATIVE, AND SO LET’S BRING THE TRUTH INTO LIGHT.

LET’S BRING THE TRUTH INTO LIGHT.

WE HAVE OVER 7.5 BILLION PEOPLE.

THINK ABOUT IT.

WE HAVE A HANDFUL OF ORGANIZATIONS, COMPANIES THAT CONTROL OUR FOOD SYSTEM.

HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?

HOW IS IT THAT WE DON’T TAKE A STAND WHEN IT COMES TO FOOD JUSTICE, CALL OUT THE INJUSTICES WE SEE ALONG THE FOOD CHAIN?

NOW PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO QUESTION THE FOOD SYSTEM.

THEY LOOK WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITIES AND THEY SEE HOW BAD THE FOOD IS, BUT YET THEY GO INTO OTHER COMMUNITIES, MORE AFFLUENT COMMUNITIES AND SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN THOSE COMMUNITIES WHEN IT COMES TO FOOD.

SO NOW, IF WE’RE TALKING ABOUT FOOD JUSTICE, TALKING ABOUT EQUITY, IF WE’RE TALKING ABOUT FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND THE RIGHT FOR ALL PEOPLE TO HAVE, THAT FOOD, HEALTHY FOOD AND WATER ARE THE TWO THINGS THAT ARE HUMAN RIGHTS FOR EVERYBODY.

WE WANT TO MAKE SURE AT RISING ROOT THAT WE SOUND THAT ALARM, THAT WE MAKE PEOPLE TO GO OUT AND REALLY STAND UP FOR THAT.

SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT BECAUSE FOOD AND WATER ARE HUMAN RIGHTS FOR ALL.

ABSOLUTELY, ABSOLUTELY.

I’M WONDERING, IN ADDITION TO ALL OF THE WORK THAT RISE AND ROOT DOES, IF SOMEONE WERE TO WANT TO GET INVOLVED OR WOULD WANT TO FIGURE OUT THERE IS A PLOT OF LAND IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, AND I WOULD LOVE TO TURN IT INTO A COMMUNITY GARDEN, BUT I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHERE TO START, IS RISE AND ROOT A GOOD SOURCE AND HOW DO YOU WORK WITH PEOPLE?

RISE AND ROOT IS A GOOD SOURCE BECAUSE WE’VE NEVER LET GO OF OUR CONNECTIONS IN NEW YORK CITY.

IN NEW YORK CITY THERE’S A HUGE COMMUNITY MOVEMENT, AN OFFICE CALLED GREEN THUMB.

WE TELL PEOPLE, NUMBER ONE, IF YOU FIND A PLOT OF LAND, FIND OUT WHO OWNS IT.

SAY THE CITY OWNS IT AND THEY HAVE NO PLANS FOR DEVELOPMENT AND YOU’VE GOT AT LEAST TEN PEOPLE THAT WANT TO GROW FOOD, CHANCES ARE YOU CAN HAVE THAT LOT AS A COMMUNITY GARDEN.

IF IT’S PRIVATELY OWNED, ASK THE GARDEN IF YOU CAN USE AND GROW THERE.

THERE ARE SO MANY INSTITUTIONS THAT ALSO HAVE VACANT LOTS.

THERE ARE CHURCHES, SYNAGOGUES, LIBRARIES, MUSEUMS, INSTITUTIONS, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, HAVE VACANT LAND THAT WOULD BE I GUESS VERY, VERY INTERESTED IN HELPING ANYONE GROW FOOD, ESPECIALLY AT THIS POINT IN TIME.

WELL, WE’RE COMING UP ON THE END OF OUR TIME TOGETHER, BUT I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN’T ASK, IF YOU CAN EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU WERE SAYING ABOUT THE BLACK DIRT AND HOW THAT ACTUALLY AFFECTS THE QUALITY OF THE PRODUCE YOU’RE ABLE TO PRODUCE.

OH, MY GOODNESS.

IT IS HIGH IN ORGANIC MATTER AND AS A RESULT WE GROW THE BEST VEGETABLES AND HERBS, BUT ALSO THE BEST WEED.

NOW, I HAVE A LITTLE THING WITH WEED BECAUSE AT ONE TIME I USED TO THINK WEEDS WERE BAD.

THERE ARE A LOT OF WEEDS THAT ARE EDIBLE.

I COMPLETELY AGREE.

I RECENTLY DISCOVERED DANDELION GREENS.

DANDELION GREENS.

PERS LANE IS HIGH IN OMEGA FAT AND IS REALLY, REALLY GOOD.

I WANT PEOPLE TO COME UP, COME VISIT RISE AND ROOT.

WE HAVE COMMUNITY DAYS THE LAST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH.

BECAUSE OF COVID WE REALLY CURTAIL THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE WE ALLOW, SO TEN PEOPLE MAX.

BUT FOLLOW US ON OUR WEBSITE, FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK.

ONE THING WE SAY ABOUT OUR FARM, WE OPEN OUR FARM TO EVERYONE.

IT’S A HEALING FARM.

IT GOES BEYOND JUST GROWING FOOD.

IT’S GROWING COMMUNITIES.

SO WE ARE A COMMUNITY FARM AND WE WELCOME ALL THAT WANT TO PROMOTE FOOD JUSTICE AND SOCIAL ADHESION, COHESION.

KAREN WASHINGTON, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING NOT ONLY THE WORK THAT YOU DO, YOU’RE SO PASSIONATE ABOUT AT RISE AND ROOT FARM, BUT ALSO THE PASSIONATE WORK BEHIND THE COMMUNITY GARDENS THAT WE’VE SEEN POP UP ALL OVER THE CITY, AND ONE CAN ONLY ASSUME WE’LL PROBABLY BE SEEING MORE OF AS THE CITY BEGINS TO RECOVER FROM COVID AS WELL.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

ABSOLUTELY.