Pennsylvania has been working hard on encouraging young people to farm, but these efforts have not yet produced the desired results, writes Marcia Brown for the Politico.

However, some are bucking this trend, including Christa Barfield, who is better known as FarmerJawn.

Barfield previously worked in healthcare, but farming provided her with a chance to help feed her community while also achieving more balance and job satisfaction. Barfield, who is Black, did not inherit land or critical farming skills.

“I had never touched soil a day in my life,” she said.

FarmerJawn produces organic fruits and vegetables which she sells in the city’s food deserts. She started farming at age 30 in the small backyard of her Philadelphia home six years ago. Today, her business spans 128 acres, including a plot at Westtown School.

Getting there was not easy, though. When she started growing food, she did not know the state funded farming apprenticeships or that it offered grants for startup urban farms.

“I was bootstrapping it,” she said. “I actually had to become FarmerJawn before anybody even cared to want to reach out a hand and lend a hand.”

Read more about FarmerJawn encouraging young people to farm in Pennsylvania and beyond in Politico.

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