Many people may not know that ancient Africans were one of the first groups of people to independently develop agriculture. In the small town of Berkeley, where the St. Louis airport owned several acres, a number of black farmers were continuing in this tradition by growing crops on the land.
Although they had been farming in Berkeley for over 48 years, they have recently been removed to make room for a warehouse. This situation connects to the stories of the Great Migration. During this time of mass movement from the South to the North between 1910 and 1970, many African-American families were moved from the land and forced to relocate.
On a cold, windy day our peer group, who are a part of a teen internship program in Spanish Lake called the Seeds of Hope Farm, set out to learn about the disappointing transition from fresh produce grown by black farmers to packaged food sold at a grocery store.
The farmers of Berkeley got the farm up and running about 48 years ago when they decided to clean up an empty lot along Airport Road. When we visited the farm, we had the opportunity to see the types of vegetables and herbs that they were growing and learned how they use this produce in their everyday meals.
When we went to visit the Berkeley farmers, before the vegetable plots were razed, we got the opportunity to talk to a man named Ron. We could relate to many of the things he shared with us. He told us that he was a chef. We also enjoy cooking, and one of the members of our group would like to become a chef, too. He shared a few tips on becoming a chef with us.
He has been growing food since he was a kid when he used to help his dad farm. But he had only been farming with the Berkeley farmers for three years. His most favorite thing to grow was greens. He grew all kinds of greens, like mustards, collards, kale and rainbow chard.
His best dish is collard greens. He gave us some suggestions on cooking greens faster and healthier: sauté them in a pan quickly instead of boiling them in a pot of water for a long time.
Some of the farmers in Berkeley were offered the opportunity to continue their farming activities on a plot of land across from the original farm. And so, in accordance with their history of movement, the African-American farmers of Berkeley will migrate once more, off to make a fresh start in a new place and continue to preserve our rich agricultural heritage.
This article was produced by the teen interns of the Seeds of Hope Farm, an initiative of the Community Action Agency of St. Louis County (CAASTLC), with the support of Wells Fargo.
