The 192nd recipient is Anik Elsi of Green Wealth Farm @greenwealthfarm in South Carolina. Anik writes, “I was introduced to farming through my Mom. After our family struggled with food apartheid for years, she transformed our home into a homestead. Realizing everyone deserved to have food this fresh, she started a nonprofit farm in the middle of a Black neighborhood.
This experience emphasized the importance of community control in the food system and inspired me to start a farm of my own. When dreaming up my farm, I wanted to counter the tradition of farmers working themselves to the bone alone and that brought me to cooperative farming.
I believe that farming is essential to controlling what you eat, but you shouldn't have to sacrifice your mental, physical, or emotional health. Farming is often done in isolation but by creating farming in community, everyone's load is lightened and there's more time to relax.”