Faith, agriculture and second chances: how Dallas communities fight hunger and transform lives

Under Texas Soleil one morning in April, Morris Moye Waters Rows from green leaves with a kind of reverence. Resident of South Dallas for 65 years, Hub does not only work on restorative farms – he is a living example of the mission of the farm.

“The houses were so bad and dilapidated, it looked like a desert,” said Much. “We feed a precious community in this city and we are overlooked.”

Repairing farms, located in a district of South Dallas, where the number of fast food chains is grocery store, shelters rows of kale, lettuce and herbs. Previously, the plot was a platform used to build the dart line of the Hatcher station which had become vacant.

What is a food desert?

According to the American department of agriculture, Texas ranks n ° 1 in low -access food deserts with low access, with nearly five million Texans faced with hunger.

The USDA also defines food deserts as areas where there is an important distance for supermarkets or large grocery stores, making it difficult for residents to access fresh fruit, vegetables and other healthy foods. Just in Dallas County, the North Texas Food Bank reported more than 406,000 residents.

Northern Texas food deserts

Twenty percent of these residents live only 10 postal codes. These postal codes are considered to be food deserts.

“If you live in this neighborhood, you must travel 2-3 hours on the DART to buy a tomato or something healthy,” said Owen Lynch, co-founder of Restorative Farms. “When we talk about food insecurity and food access, they talk about the last kilometer. How do you get the product to people? The easiest way to do so, in my mind, is to put it on a transit center. Our employees can come to work on the train and our customers too.”

Fill a food gap

Restoring farms do not only make a food gap – this creates a plan for the future of agriculture, said Lynch. Their agriculture is rooted in regenerative agriculture, a holistic approach which focuses on improving soil health, biodiversity and resilience of ecosystems.

“The way industrial agriculture works is that we exhaust nutrition soil,” said Lynch. “We do exactly the opposite here.”

Instead of plowing, which releases carbon and kills microbiomas, the farm runs crops and lasting methods to keep the ground booming.

Katie Lewis, professor of fertility and soil chemistry at Texas A & M Agrilife Research, said that it was not only good for the garden – it is a climate strategy.

“The soil can absorb heat,” said Lewis. “It helps prevent the land from warming up, and it is an excellent stamp for all kinds of toxins and chemicals. It can provide greater resilience to our continuous production of cultures through the state of Texas, the United States and the world.”

Reduce the impact of climate change

In Texas, the impacts of climate change were sworn with intense rain and brutal droughts with extreme heat and fatal gels. This inconsistency is what prompted restorative farms to create one of the first urban sowing farms in the region. Inside, plants are cultivated in controlled conditions, designed to thrive despite extreme time. Whether 100 degrees or below freezing, plants grow.

“We are cultivating different types of cultures right now that if we are suddenly affected by 98 degrees for two weeks, we could turn in tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers,” said Lynch. “We have already growing them and they are already six weeks old. We can adapt because we have the luxury of having thousands of plants like backups.”

In addition to a sowing farm, Restorative Farms has just launched its tap kit, which is the largest hydroponic farm in the region. Hydroponic agriculture is a method of plant growth where the roots are not in the soil but are rather immersed in a water solution rich in nutrients. Inside, they produce more than 3,000 lettuce heads per week.

The food which is then harvested, washed and wrapped is then distributed through the county to the growing ecosystem of community partners of the restorative farm. Two longtime partners, Temple Shalom and Cornerstone Baptist Church, share how their collaboration amplifies their impact.

Shalom temple: Faith meets food justice

At the shalom temple in the north of Dallas, Gretchen Reynolds manages judge Garden, a farm entirely based on donations, supervised by restoration farms. Together, they launched a community -supported agriculture program, which allows consumers to buy bags of local seasonal food directly from a farmer.

For all three full bags that are sold, a “Pay-What-You-Can” bag goes to a family in need.

“Everyone is really inspired,” said Reynolds. “We hear that the food is really fresh and delicious, and it’s a lot of food for the price.”

Reynolds thinks that these partnerships are essential to create a lasting change.

“It was great to share knowledge and experience,” she said. “The simple fact of knowing that we are not doing this work alone is really powerful.”

Cornerstone Baptist Church: teaching of well-being

In South Dallas, Wanda Wesson directs the community garden of the Baptiste church in Cornerstone, where its mission is not only to develop food, but to develop knowledge thanks to education sessions.

“One of my members says:” If I knew how to eat healthier and be more active, I would have had a healthier life “,” said Wesson. “When we teach people, it helps them in turn teach their children and the community is healthier.”

Repairing farms have joined forces with Cornerstone to provide sowing and help distribute products via CSA bags. Wesson’s team uses these vegetables to teach residents how to cook with fresh ingredients – often using chefs who help create simple and affordable recipes.

“Restoring farms bring us a variety of things they have never seen before,” said Wesson. “But they learn to love him and say:” It has a good taste. “”

The importance of the community is the basis of the mission of restorative farms. In addition to restoring the land and the community, they focus on the restoration of the individual.

“We are called catering farms for many reasons,” said Lynch. “We started working with my colleague Tyrone Day, who was wrongly condemned. We really believe in the principles of restorative justice.”

“Grow a better dallas”

In restorative farms, people who have previously been incarcerated have the opportunity to help grow and create a change in their community.

“For me to give back to a city, I took so much over the years and the criminalist activities that I would do, it touches my heart and keep me on a better way,” said a hub. “Spiritually, emotionally, educational – all this plays a role in the growth of a better dallas.”

“Grow a Better Dallas” is the slogan of restorative farms, and they hope to be a more growth model in the community and beyond while food prices continue to skyrocket and climate change is intensifying.

“I think it was their belief and mission that really helped them,” said Meghna Tare, head of sustainability of the University of Texas in Arlington.

She said that the ability of restorative farms to bring members of the community with different expertise would have a lasting impact.

“It is not something that a city or an organization can approach,” said Tare. “You really need a collaboration effort on this.”

Education, she said, is the key to creating this momentum.

“It is important to know where your food is cultivated because it helps you make good choices, not only in what you eat, but where and how you buy your food,” said Tare.

Lynch, full professor at the Southern Methodist University, echoes this feeling. He invites students and members of the community to learn from farmers as a hub, promoting a space where knowledge and connection develop side by side.

“Each gathering begins by bringing people around the table and enjoying something together,” said Lynch. “When you feed, you feed in several ways.”

To find out more about restorative farms and how you can contribute, visit restorativefarms.org