“ It is very hard to start farming if you don’t come from privilege, if you don’t have those financial resources or social safety net and that’s a huge barrier, especially for people of color, to get into farming. That’s really something we need to figure as a society, how to fix that.”

From https://www.farmshareaustin.org : Michelle Akindiya caught the farming bug in 2005 when she left a theatre career in Chicago for an internship on a farm in Southern Wisconsin. She continued her farmer training with Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT) and the Michael Fields Institute, while managing a CSA farm and vineyard outside of Chicago. Returning to Austin in 2009, she worked with Gabriel Valley Farms and managed the urban farms at the Monument Cafe in Georgetown,TX. Michelle loves the endless learning opportunities inherent to farming, and she loves to share her passion for sustainable growing with the community and is excited to nurture a new crop of farmers. The mission of Farmshare Austin is to grow a healthy local food community by increasing food access, teaching new farmers and preserving farmland. With the help of there supporters, Farmshare Austin has begun to make a visible impact in the greater Austin area: The Farmer Starter class is full of dynamic students poised to become the next generation of organic farmers. Fresh for Less Mobile Markets and Curbside Delivery are bringing affordable, fresh, healthy food to Austin and Travis County. Farmshare Land Link connects landowners with growers & farmers looking for land.

Donate: https://www.farmshareaustin.org/support

Please note: The Checkout Host and Co-Founder Errol Schweizer was a Board Member of Farmshare Austin from 2014-2017, and is still a big fan.