From Firm to Farm

By Carrie Whitney, Clifton Park Production Assistant

May 21, 2015

After spending several years working at an environmental and food packaging law firm, it is a joy to work at an organization dedicated to making healthy food more affordable for Baltimore residents.  While I enjoyed those years I worked  at the firm, I missed working with people who were driven by a desire to serve and to better the lives of those around them.  I also felt that I was working on the opposite side of many of the issues I believed in: making healthy, fresh, chemical-free food available to everyone.

The people I work with daily at Real Food Farm share my passion for making healthy food more available in Baltimore.  Our passion for food justice and the city frequently comes out as we plant, care for, and harvest fresh produce.  It’s amazing how inspiring conversations held while weeding a bed of carrots can be!  Each week, as we harvest and prep our produce for the 32nd Street Farmers Market and Real Food Farm’s Mobile Farmers Market, I enjoy knowing that the food is going to feed people in my city.  Many Baltimore residents, including those in Northeast Baltimore, do not have ready access to grocery stores and fresh produce.  It is good to know that my daily work in the fields or our hoop houses, prepping vegetable beds, planting, and harvesting, is helping to address some of the needs in my community.

Working at Real Food Farm has rekindled my desire to serve those in my city.  It has also renewed my desire to try new vegetables, and to ensure my family eats plenty of fresh produce.  As I tend the vegetables at the farm (and grow my own in my backyard!), I hope to see more and more people grow a passion to eat healthy, nutritious foods.  I also hope people become more aware of the need to ensure others can afford and access the fresh fruits and vegetables they need.

Here’s to a healthy, happy, growing season!

About Real Food Farm

Real Food Farm works toward a just and sustainable food system by improving neighborhood access to healthy food, providing experience-based education, and developing an economically viable, environmentally responsible local agriculture sector.