Category: Social Justice

Activism, Citizenship, Community, Equal Rights, Events, Faith, Gratitude, Hope, Love, Non-Profits, Opal's Farm, Revival, Service to Others, Social Justice, Thoughts From the Porch, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming, Volunteers, What Can I Do

Protests and Service

gregoryjoel

This year has been rough. I had to lay off my help in January due to funding cuts. My own paycheck has been infrequent this year making it difficult financially. Many of my friends in the farming and in the non-profit communities find themselves in similar situations. I blew my left knee out in April and the knee replacement surgery I was looking forward to this November has been delayed due to post-op infection risks discovered in my surgical clearance appointments – probably until next Fall. Listening to the news gets more depressing each day. Authoritarian rule and economic crisis are a black cloud that constantly hovers overhead. Honestly, it gets a bit overwhelming.

Fortunately, I get constant reminders of God’s grace and providence on those days when it all seems to be a bit too much. I had a couple of those this week. The first one came in the form of two great volunteer groups that came out to the farm. First Financial Bank came to the farm on Monday. This was their tenth anniversary of their “Day of Service” they do each year to give back to their local community. We are so grateful for choosing us for the second year to be the recipient of their service day. We all had a great time together and an incredible amount of work got done. We want to give a shout-out to Sandra Martinez, who organized the day for First Financial Bank. We appreciate you so much.

Wednesday brought another amazing group of volunteers from JP Morgan Chase. JPMC has come to the farm several times over the last five years with various groups from their many banks and departments to help at the farm. The Wednesday group completed so many of the things that would have taken me several weeks to accomplish by myself. We are always so glad to see them and exceedingly grateful for all their help.

The overall reminder came yesterday in the form of “No Kings Day”, a nationwide protest opposing authoritarian rule, divisiveness, and threats to the freedom we so joyously celebrate and hold onto. I sat down this morning to read the news from across the country about millions of people standing and marching together peacefully for unity and freedom. N(No arrests related to the protests were reported I might add). Here in Fort Worth, thousands gathered at Burk Burnett Park and marched through downtown. Sometimes I need to know I’m not alone. Seeing so many others choosing love and justice warms my heart and renews my strength to keep on the path of love and service in pursuit of unity.

Unity, service, empathy, equity, and justice are not simply political ideas. They are core values for Opal’s Farm and Unity Unlimited, Inc. We are so grateful for all of our supporters and our volunteers that come to put those values into action. We are grateful to all of those who stood together yesterday in support of those values.

Autumn, Community, Down On the Farm, Farmers Markets, Food Deserts, Food Insecurity, Food Justice, Gratitude, Hope, Marginalized, Neighbors, Non-Profits, Nutrition, Opal's Farm, Regeneration, Service to Others, Social Justice, Summer, Thoughts From the Porch, Volunteers

What a Year It’s Been

gregoryjoel

September is finally here, and meteorological autumn has begun. I’d like to think that truly means the end of summer, but I live in Texas, so I know better. We’ll still see some hot days but hopefully no more triple-digit-temperatures. All-all we’ve had a mild summer compared to the last three or four years. We even had rain in July and August, which is rare indeed. Opal’s Farm, with the new fall seed, loves it.

Today is one of the one-in-seven instances that the Labor Day holiday falls on the first day of September. Those who get the day off will be spending time barbequing with family and friends or simply catching up some sorely needed rest. Thanks to the rain this morning I get to spend some time at the desk and reflect on what Labor Day truly means. Labor Day isn’t always a holiday for farmers, so I thought I’d take advantage of the weather to play catch up on the recent farm news.

Most of you all are aware of the cutbacks that led to staff layoffs at the first of the year. Add to that an April knee injury and I’ve been working a bit slower than usual this year. I also had to scale back the amount of land we were cultivating to our original one acre. The good news is that we were still able to surpass last year’s total in pounds of produce grown. That’s what happens as the soil becomes healthier with each passing season. That’s why farming regeneratively is one of our core values.

Stacey Harwood, our Volunteer Coordinator, has remained on staff although paychecks have been a bit erratic this spring and summer. She’s been with Opal’s for six years now and has become a loved member of Opal’s family (we may be a non-profit but we’re really a family farm!). She’s done an excellent job of working with our volunteers and we’ve had some great groups and individuals come out to work on the farm. If you have volunteered with us, please know there’s no way to adequately tell you how much you mean to us. We’ve been able to get so much more completed with your help. Your impact has reached far beyond just the farm to the tables and people across the communities we serve.

Help is treasured, but the reality is that most days it’s just me at the farm. That’s not always so bad though. I’ve really thought about how we can serve our community better. One way we have done that is to open Opal’s Farm Stand every Saturday from 1 PM to 3 PM at the “Doc” Sessions Community Center Parking lot (201 S. Sylvania – the corner of 4th and Sylvania).

Opal’s Farm Stand offers more affordable prices for our quality organic produce to our neighbors. We are also a SNAP/EBT retailer and began offering Double Up Bucks two weeks ago with the help of Texas Health Resources Community Hope and Double Up Texas. SNAP participants can redeem up to thirty dollars in SNAP benefits to purchase fresh produce. Those thirty dollars then becomes sixty dollars, doubling their purchasing power.

We’re still at Cowtown Farmers Market most Saturday mornings, but our emphasis is switching from so much being sold at retail to lower pricing for our community. To be honest, it’s a bit of a financial risk. It takes time to build a market location. Farmers live on slim profit margins. People fail to realize the work that goes into growing good heathy food. That’s why Cowtown offers great food at a fair price.

Unfortunately, farmers markets are not always accessible to marginalized neighborhoods: either in location or pricing. We’re so grateful to be a part of the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program at Cowtown. The market and our regular customers are a blessing to us. They’ve helped sustain Opal’s financially and we wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for them. However, we will be taking less produce to Cowtown so that more is available to the neighborhoods we serve through Opal’s Farm Stand.

We also want to extend a heartfelt thanks to Jesse Herrera of CoAct and the Funkytown Mindful Market. Their market is held on the first Saturday of every month at Texas Wesleyan University (1201 Wesleyan in Polytechnic Heights). They’ve been purchasing Opal’s Farm produce to sell to the Eastside neighborhoods they serve. The next market will be held on September 6th from 11 AM to 2 PM.

I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout-out to the Dallas Wings WNBA and the Texas Fence Association. In January, they built a chain link fence around our bio-intensive third of an acre. The Dallas Wings front office spent a volunteer day at the farm and got so much done that I am in awe of them. They’ll be returning in September and the Texas Fence Association will return to fence another third of an acre (you all are amazing!).

Our first cohort of Taste the C.U.R.E., in partnership with Tarleton State University, graduated on June 28th. The students did a great job of learning and using bio-intensive farming methods. Several have kept their farm plots while others have chosen to take the knowledge they learned and apply it to their own backyards and neighborhoods. The next cohort starts in February and more details will be forthcoming.

Finally, I want to remind our readers of the importance of today, Labor Day. It was signed into law June 28th, 1894, by President Grover Cleveland following the Pullman strike and decades of struggle by the US labor movement as industrialization grew throughout the end of the nineteenth century. Labor Day is a day to remember and celebrate the sacrifices of the US labor movement and honor their achievements and the prosperity we enjoy today.

Have a great holiday. Enjoy your family and your neighbors. Stop by and see us at Opal’s Farm. We’d love to have you join the family!

Activism, Choices, Citizenship, Community, Democracy, Events, Faith, Hope, Juneteenth, Neighbors, Opal's Farm, Responsibility, Revival, Social Justice, Thoughts From the Porch, Unity Unlimited, Inc.

What a Nice Surprise

gregoryjoel

(Side Note – I just saw that my last post was on June 1st. June is always busy with all the Juneteenth activities hosted by Unity Unlimited, Inc. and Opal’s Farm. Just as a side note to all those I follow regularly – I have fallen so far behind your posts and emails that I’ve had to send them to the archives in the hope that someday I may time to read them. That’s one of the most difficult parts of this month as it deepens the sense of disconnection from the people I most enjoy. Please know that I think of you all often and hope to stay current going forward into July.)

June may be busy but it has also been full of hope and joy during a time when so many folks are struggling under the onus of grief, anger, and depression caused by the chaos, hatefulness, and uncertainty coming from Washington D.C. on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. In response to this madness, large rallies and protests were held around the country, from small villages and towns to major cities, on June 14th called “No Kings Day”. Even here in Fort Worth, a crowd of around 7500 people met at Burkburnett Park and marched through downtown Fort Worth in a peaceful, non-violent protest. The turnout was quite unexpected in this extremely conservative, deeply red, city. Moreover, it was a widely diverse crowd including moderates, progressives, and even some conservatives who stand against the heavy-handed authoritarianism coming from the current administration.

This may not sound like a big deal compared to other crowds around the country, but even during the height of the protests when George Floyd was brutally murdered in 2020, the crowd size never grew over two thousand. Perhaps more folks are beginning to see behind the MAGA curtain and becoming willing to act. I can only hope.

I was asked to speak at the rally (which was advertised as non-partisan, mind you) about the importance of changing our local food system in light of all the events we struggle with today and the importance of being able to grow our own food. I’ve always believed that planting a garden is a revolutionary act. It changes the perception of both the grower and the food system itself. Local food is a threat to the old ways of the distribution of ultra-processed, unhealthy, food void of proper nutrients, particularly in vulnerable urban neighborhoods.

Juneteenth was only a few days later and there was no shortage of Juneteenth activities this year even though many other cities cancelled or cutback their celebrations this year. Ms. Opal Lee’s annual “Walk for Freedom” was supported by over 2600 walkers this year in Fort Worth; not the mention those that participated in our host cities – New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Tokyo, Japan – or walked virtually in their own towns across the country and the world. I got a post from New Zealand about a young lady whose family joined in the walk despite the twenty-hour time difference!

We finished the week on Sunday with Sen. Bernie Sanders and the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour at Dickies Arena here in Fort Worth. His commitment to speaking to truth in deeply red states is sorely needed and appreciated in times like these. I’m a firm believer that had the DNC party apparatus not blocked him from of the 2016 Presidential nomination in favor of Hillary Clinton, things would be much different today. Just saying…

The events of this June here in conservative Tarrant County, Texas have given me a glimmer of hope. These days I will take hope wherever and however I find it. I think we all should. The constant onslaught of chaos and immoral policies (note that these are immoral, not simple political policies and choices – I’m not speaking from a political framework) drives us all to a state of hopelessness. That’s exactly where the powers that be want us to be. It’s easier to control and hurt quiet people. Thanks Fort Worth for making your voice louder this month. Now let’s get louder…

Acceptance, Aging, Belief, Christianity, Community, Connection, Consequences, Down On the Farm, Emotional Health, Environment, Faith, Farmers Markets, Food Deserts, Food Equality, Food Insecurity, Food Justice, Gardening, Generations, God's Economics, Grace, Gratitude, Health, Neighbors, Non-Profits, Persistence, Practice, Service to Others, Simplicity, Social Justice, Spirituality, Thoughts From the Porch, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming, Volunteers

Bumps in the Road

gregoryjoel

It’s been an interesting Spring at Opal’s Farm. I’ve been busier than a one-armed paper hanger as my uncle used to say.

For one thing, I received a letter from the Social Security Administration this week. It said I’ve reached the age where I am now considered retired. I have to laugh when I realize Ms. Opal “retired” the year after I graduated high school. If that’s what retirement looks like, then I’m grateful for it. It means I can focus on loving and serving others full-time just like her. At ninety-eight, she reminds me that she just keeps running forward so the good Lord can’t catch her to take her home. Besides, there’s so much more to do. Especially now…

The other thing that happened is a little less humorous. My left knee blew out on me last Wednesday as I was putting tools away for the day. That wouldn’t have been unusual as it tends to happen now that I’m old enough to suffer the consequences of an overactive youth. This time was different. It didn’t stop hurting the next day and the pain was in a different part of my knee and increasing rather than decreasing. I decided Friday afternoon I had better go to the ER and have it checked out.

Fortunately, nothing is broken, but since X-rays don’t show cartilage or ligament damage, I’ll be seeing the orthopedic surgeon this week. Moreover, the ER doc said I had a lot of arthritis, and the next step was a knee replacement. I feared that might be the case. I guess I’ll find out this week. It’s a pretty big bump in the road.

He also told me to take steroids and pain medicine, wear the immobilizer, use the crutches, and stay off my knee for a few days. I can take medication. I can use the immobilizer most of the time. I can even use the crutches sometimes. However, for a farmer four days of bed rest isn’t possible this time of year. My doctor and I have an agreement – I don’t tell him how to practice medicine and he doesn’t tell me how to farm.

I went market and “Taste the C.U.R.E” class yesterday. If people ask me what happened I simply tell the truth – I got older!

I guess there’s more news to come and a lot of decisions to be made. I’ll just hobble along and work on the farm until then. I’m going to be much slower so I’m extra grateful for the volunteers we have right now. Spring is the busiest time of year for farmers and Opal’s is no exception. The farm still needs daily care. I’ll be there as long as the good Lord lets me, but we need extra volunteer help right now. Please think of us if you have a little spare time and want to get you’re hands dirty. After all, dirt don’t hurt.

Choices, Community, Down On the Farm, Education, Faith, Farmers Markets, Food Insecurity, Food Justice, Gardening, Health, Neighbors, Non-Profits, Opal's Farm, Public Policy, Quotes, Service Organizations, Service to Others, Social Justice, Spirituality, Spring, Unity Unlimited, Inc., Urban Farming, What Can I Do

Buy Local – Now More Than Ever

gregoryjoel

I apologize for not posting regularly over the last couple of months. Opal’s Farm is going through several changes right now – most notably in staff. Recent cuts to USDA funding and January resignations have left the farm work to myself, my Volunteer Coordinator, Stacey Harwood, and a small number of volunteers. We are still on track for all our Spring planting and looking forward to a great harvest.

The bipolar Texas weather hasn’t helped even though it has kept things interesting. The freezing weather one week and in the eighties the next caused some of the winter crops to bolt. That was followed by seventy-two hours of sub-freezing weather and the plants took it much harder than the first round of freezes. The good news is that it looks like we’ve had our last hard freeze. Tomatoes are coming on the 17th and the rest of Spring planting is underway. We’re looking forward to bringing the Spring harvest to market!

I would also like to take a moment to talk about the many non-profit organizations working in agriculture and food systems. They have endured financial hardships due to the recent changes at the USDA. Some programs that aid farmers and farm organizations have been shut down indefinitely as funding has been frozen or eliminated entirely. Economic uncertainty faces us all.

The average age of a farmer in Texas is sixty-two. Part of our mission is to incubate new farms and train new farmers. American Farmland Trust has a slogan that says it all: “No farms. No food”. Please consider the importance of our local farmers, the healthy fresh produce they bring to our community, and the education they bring to the next generation of farmers, both urban and rural.

I’ve spent the last two months with our “Taste the C.U.R.E.” students and seen the interest and willingness to be part of the grower’s community. Not only do they want healthy food for themselves, but they want to feed their neighbors. Urban agriculture is a growing alternative to high food prices and the ultra-processed food found at the big grocery stores. We hope the movement continues to grow and that you can become a part of it.

You can support your local farmers and food system through financial donations, calling your elected representatives, volunteering at a local farm, or simply shopping local at your local farmers market or farm stand. Not only is local produce healthier, it ensures that food access is available to your community. Food access is not a “DEI” issue. It should be available to all of us. Healthy food is a basic human right. Your local farmers are working long hours to feed us all. Buy local and support your local farm!