Photo: (Johanna Gilligan)
Lil Wayne better get ready to share his hometown stage, 'cause New Orleans native "Ace" Shields, 17, just won us over with a rap that celebrates community change and name-checks arugula at the same time. How can you not be a fan?
The "Miss Johanna" he refers to is whip-smart Johanna Gillian, 31, program director for Grow Dat Youth Farm, the urban agriculture program in New Orleans that gives high school students like Ace the opportunity to work as farmers the smack in the heart of NOLA's City Park. With the support of her alma mater, Tulane University, Johanna's project empowers young leaders and helps to feed their city. It's no surprise, then, that she is among the innovative "thought leaders" who will come together at Ashoka U Exchange, February 10 - 12 at Arizona State University, celebrating social entrepreneurship in higher education. Johanna let us in on why Grow Dat is designed to thrive.
Act: Your work spans a wide range of disciplines — from food science to life skills to job skills training for youth. Why food production connect so many areas of our lives?
Johanna: What is unique about food is its universality. There are not a lot of things in life that everyone does. Growing and cooking and selling food becomes a great touchstone for a diverse audience because everyone can relate to it. Very few people of this teen generation have ever farmed. It's kind of an equalizing activity — and much more enjoyable to do with other people!
Have you always had an awareness of the importance of food sourcing and production or was there a turning point that opened your eyes?
I moved to New Orleans to go to Tulane, and while I was there, I worked with kids in after-school programs. I'd bring in different kinds of snacks that a lot of times they hadn't even tried — things I'd assumed everyone had eaten before. I used to make zucchini bread. The first time they said, "Why is this bread green? What are zucchinis?" I started realizing that the kids were not getting access to the kinds of foods I grew up with.
Then I went abroad to Thailand for my junior year and started seeing that small scale farmers were suffering a the hands of an industrialized food system. When I came back I was really inspired to bring these two experiences together, and the way I thought of doing that is to connect them by growing food. To learn how to do it for themselves to learn how to cook, but also, to know what it means to grow food. How hard it is to grow food. And that every time you buy food at the store, that it has been grown by someone.
How do your young farmers adjust to the work?
We send a very strong message that we take them seriously and we expect them to show up and do their very best. Our goal this year is to grow 10,000 pounds of food on an acre of land in City Park, and we will not be able to do that if the young people in our program do not come to work ready to work every day. They know that it's essential that they perform because not only are we relying on each other in the context of the organization, but we donate 45 percent of the food. So if they're not pulling their weight, that's food that won't get donated.
What can the rest of us do to be a part of the food revolution?
One great way to support the health of the environment and yourself is to cook your own food. Consumers have an incredible amount of power and we often don't realize that. Make small changes in your shopping habit, support local farmers. Another thing: If you move into positions of power, try to make place for young people in your business, people who may not have the highest credentials but you see have the capacity.
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