Christa Barfield grew up in Germantown, Philadelphia, and once worked in healthcare.
asserted
Barfield → grow → healthcare
Her career changed after a 2018 trip to Martinique, where she met Black farmers and saw their work first-hand.
asserted
she → change → work
Five days after returning home, Barfield began planning a new career in farming.
asserted
Barfield → return → farming
Today, the 38-year-old St. Joseph’s University graduate runs FarmerJawn Agriculture in West Chester, outside Philadelphia.
asserted
graduate → run → Philadelphia
According to Philadelphia Tribune, The farm covers 128 acres and employs 26 people.
uncertain
farm → accord → people
Barfield says it is the largest Black-owned farm in Pennsylvania that grows food.
asserted
that → say → food
Her work now goes beyond growing crops.
asserted
work → go → crops
FarmerJawn has locations in West Chester, Kensington and Elkins Park, with each location following a different farming model.
asserted
location → have → model
Barfield wants to show that farming and access to food can work across all three settings.
asserted
farming → want → settings
The next step is the planned opening of CornerJawn, a food and medicine corner store in Kensington.
asserted
step → plan → Kensington
The store is scheduled to open on October 1 and is part of Barfield’s effort to bring the food grown by FarmerJawn closer to Philadelphia communities.
asserted
store → schedule → communities
A career change after Martinique
Barfield’s decision to enter farming began with her trip to Martinique in 2018.
asserted
change → enter → 2018
While on the island, she met Black farmers, and the experience changed how she thought about her own career.
asserted
she → meet → career
“I got on a plane to Martinique, and I met Black farmers while I was on the island, and
asserted
I → get → island
what I saw inspired me,” Barfield told the Philadelphia Tribune.
asserted
Barfield → see → Tribune
“I came home five days later and started planning to become a farmer.”
asserted
I → come → ?
After returning to Philadelphia, she started working towards becoming a farmer.
asserted
she → return → Philadelphia
Her early business was funded through gig work.
asserted
business → fund → work
She delivered groceries for Uber, Lyft and Instacart while building FarmerJawn.
asserted
She → deliver → FarmerJawn
The journey also came with challenges.
asserted
journey → come → challenges
Barfield has spoken about the difficulties of being a Black farm owner.
asserted
Barfield → speak → difficulties
At the same time, she said communities in Philadelphia and West Chester have supported her work.
asserted
communities → say → work
Her farming operation has since grown into a larger network.
asserted
operation → grow → network
The West Chester farm is based on the campus of Westtown School.
asserted
farm → base → School
The campus has had a farm in operation since 1799.
asserted
campus → have → 1799
During a recent tour of the farm, the Philadelphia Tribune saw rows of tomatoes, corn, watermelons and collard greens, along with other produce.
asserted
Tribune → see → produce
Barfield describes the farm as regenerative and organic.
asserted
Barfield → describe → farm
She also aims to make FarmerJawn one of the only such Black-owned farms in the world.
asserted
FarmerJawn → aim → world
Her goal is to build something that can be repeated elsewhere (Photo: Vista Today)
Her focus is not limited to what happens on the farm.
asserted
what → build → farm
She wants the produce to reach Philadelphia neighbourhoods, including communities that may not have easy access to the food grown at the farm.
uncertain
that → want → farm
“We're really working on building a relationship, cleaning up the food system, and making the food system better,” she said.
asserted
she → work → system
“Growing food and building storefronts in urban areas to make sure this food gets to communities that need it.”
asserted
that → grow → it
Barfield wants the store to connect residents with regenerative and organic food while also helping them understand where their food comes from.
asserted
food → want → where
“All of those residents in Kensington deserve regenerative and organic food, and they all deserve to know where their food comes from and who their farmer is,” she said.
asserted
she → deserve → where
“Our commercial corridors should not leave anyone out, and that's what CornerJawn is we're going to build something really dope.”
asserted
we → leave → something
Barfield also wants FarmerJawn’s work to have an educational role.
asserted
work → want → role
She hopes to partner with schools so students can learn about farming.
asserted
students → hop → farming
She wants the Black community to embrace farming and see it as part of its history.
asserted
community → want → history
The company’s West Chester operation represents rural farming, while the Elkins Park location represents a suburban setting.
asserted
location → represent → setting
Kensington provides an urban model.
asserted
Kensington → provide → model
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
