Meet the Columbus couple using an urban farm to create more ‘resilient’ community
A Columbus couple’s “third act retirement project” helps combat food insecurity in Columbus by providing fresh, locally grown produce, and potentially saves residents a trip to the grocery store during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Brad Barnes and Jenn Collins, who operate Dew Point Farm, recently started a pop-up market at their 0.15 acre urban farm on 16th Avenue in Columbus’ Midtown community to sell the fresh produce grown there to neighborhood residents.
“We’ve had folks in this neighborhood walk by while we’re here harvesting, just asking ‘hey can we go ahead and buy some tomatoes from you, that’ll save me a trip to the grocery store,’” Barnes said.
They started the market about a month ago, holding it on Wednesday mornings. Barnes said they were already working the farm and decided to bring a tent, table, chalkboard sign and other items needed to sell produce to nearby residents and passersby.
“Sales have been slow but the important thing we wanted to say to this neighborhood is that we are here not to plant food and take it away, but to also serve you guys and to sell food to you guys if you want it, and give them to easy access to some of the best produce they’re ever going to taste,” Barnes said. “...you won’t get any fresher than walking next door to pick it up.”
Barnes said the food is all certified naturally grown, with no pesticides or chemicals used. He said they’ve harvested 794 pounds of produce between May 27 and August 12.
Collins said recent data from the USDA indicates about one in five people in Columbus are food insecure, meaning they might not know where their next meal is coming from. That number has likely risen during the pandemic, she said, which also highlights how broken the food system is.
“The good thing about growing food like this at small local farms is that it fixes a lot of those broken pieces as far as transportation and access, and so the more of these little farms that you have in a community the more resilient it is,” Collins said.
They recently began selling a loose-leaf herbal tea made from herbs grown at the farm called “Trouble Brewing.” Ten percent of all sales will go to the Equal Justice Initiative in honor of the late Rep. John Lewis, civil rights legend and longtime Georgia congressman.
