Black farming has been a way of life for Gibron Jones and his family since he was a 6-year-old boy growing up in North St. Louis. His mother and father picked and cooked food from the garden they started at their Walnut Park home near Goodfellow and Emma.
“I was blessed to have a family with humble poor beginnings,” Jones says. “The reason why we grew our food was because we couldn’t afford to spend money at the grocery store.”
Food insecurity and the lack of fresh food were struggles Jones saw his parents try to combat by giving away bags of produce to neighbors. The family’s garden included 75 tomato plants, berry bushes, lettuce, corn, squash, onions and more.
“I was out there trying to work the tiller as a kid, so to be doing this work now is a full-circle moment,” Jones says.
Across North St. Louis City and County, families face some of the most persistent food deserts in the region. As federal benefits fluctuate and grocery access remains uneven, a network of Black farmers, food hubs and community groups has stepped in to fill widening gaps. Jones is one of the leaders shaping that response, expanding the small-scale growing tradition he learned as a child into a large, coordinated effort to feed thousands.
Today, Jones is the co-founder of Confluence Farms in North County, which spans 240 acres, and the executive director of the North Sarah Food Hub.
The farm, located off Shackelford Road in Florissant, serves as an incubator for other farmers. It distributes produce baskets and packaged meals from its North City headquarters to hospitals, senior buildings, churches, food banks, Urban League sites and residents who call in need.
Since the North Sarah Food Hub opened in 2020, Jones’ organizations have distributed more than 3.5 million meals and 4.5 million pounds of produce. Deliveries include fresh carrots, cabbage, collard greens and sweet potatoes, along with prepared meals such as herb chicken and roasted vegetables.
“We’re one of the few organizations that can put out the volume of food that we do,” Jones says. “We take our produce, we bring it into the city, and those crops are converted into meals.”
Jones is a member of Empowered Thriving Communities (ETC), a coalition of nonprofit food providers and farmers created by the St. Louis Integrated Health Network (IHN). ETC acts as a task force for hyperlocal groups working to address food deserts and expand access to healthier options.
“I didn’t feel like we had a choice not to act because of how critical food is to everyone’s well-being,” says IHN CEO Andwele Jolly. “This is a partnership. We are not at the center. The community is the center. Together, we make it work.”
Since 2021, under IHN’s mission, 81,000 people have been served through ETC food pantries, food banks, community gardens and urban farming programs.
Amid continued uncertainty around SNAP benefits and rising food insecurity since the month began, IHN leaned on its 35-member ETC group to help fill the tables of the residents they aim to serve.
“It is disappointing and disheartening to know that in a well-resourced country, we continue to limit access to food,” Jolly says.
“I think [our work is] a good fit for the work that they’re doing. It’s a good match,” Jones adds. “We’re learning from each other and building something that is a solid foundation for the community.”
Gabrielle Cole, co-founder and executive director of the Fit & Food Connection, was one of the first ETC members after the pandemic. Her nonprofit focuses on providing North St. Louis City and County residents with food justice through quality access, urban farming and organic garden programs.
“IHN is setting an example for other larger institutions to step up and step in,” Cole says. “A lot of the ETC members are residents with lived experience, and we live in the community to design what this can look like, which is one of a kind.”
Since the pandemic shutdown, members of the ETC collaborative have served 60,000 people, with children, older adults and people with disabilities among the most affected.
“The food insecurity is ridiculous in St. Louis. I’ve seen the disparities, and I’m one of those people who has faced them,” says North County resident Audrey Hollis. “I don’t know where St. Louis would be without Black farmers.”
Hollis, 72, who lives in unincorporated Florissant and is on a fixed income, remembers relying on the ETC network after being released from the hospital.
“I was sick. I could barely walk,” she recalls. “I asked how much it was going to cost, and they said, ‘Nothing. Zero.’ That was really a shock to me. I started getting food delivered, and that has helped me so much.”
It was Jones and the North Sarah Food Hub that came to her aid. With an older husband and a disabled adult son, the support arrived just in time.
“A lot of times people come up to me and say, ‘You helped my grandmother. You helped my mother, my uncle, or grandfather.’ We hear it all the time,” Jones says. “What we grow impacts people’s lives. I’m proud of that.”
Reflecting on the holiday season, Hollis hopes others can be helped by the network.
“I just hope people have a meal on the table,” she says. “It’s a day of thanks, I just hope no one goes without a meal.”