Emily Zielke of Food and Flora Sovereignty

The 526th recipient is Emily Zielke of Food and Flora Sovereignty in Woodstock, GA. Emily writes:

What self-care and well-being mean to me as a farmer: “While not talked about, encouraged or practiced nearly enough, self care for farmers is essential. We work extremely hard and pride ourselves in our hard work- so much so that when it comes to down time, I think we struggle to turn off or slow down our brains and bodies. We often feel guilty when we don't constantly improve by increasing profit or production, even though a constant increase in anything is an unnatural phenomenon. There are natural disasters, unpredictable markets and other forces at work that we deal with and take personally, even things that are completely out of our control. Self care and well being means building routines and habits for quiet/calm/down time without guilt. Exercising or moving our bodies in ways that balance us rather than our often times unbalanced physical work day (lugging heavy buckets of water or feed has often made me feel like a lopsided literal knuckle dragger at times).”

How I might use this $100 self-care award: ”I would buy some sports bras and a very loose fitting lightweight work outfit/overalls. Though I eat healthy and live a very active daily life running my farm and taking care of my family, I have gained 25 pounds since hitting my mid 40s. Nothing fits right anymore but as a single mom, I am last on my shopping/priority list. Shoving my new body into ill-fitting clothing is not just a knock to my self esteem, it's painful and slows me down some days.  In the heat of summer, it sometimes makes me want to cry as soon as it’s time to start working.” 

Most important self-care needs that contribute to my well-being as a farmer: "The most important aspect of self-care or wellness for me would be a network of like minded, nonjudgemental farm or farm adjacent business owners. To have a secure network of buyers and markets that didn't fluctuate as much as farmers market customers do would also be wonderful for my mental health.  Learning healthy coping skills for high stress-- and actually having time (and/or money) to practice and adopt them into my daily routine would greatly enhance any person who has a highly physical, stressful, unpredictable livelihood.”

#realfarmercare