BALTIMORE — Growing your own food is an idea that's laughable to some, but to Baltimore's Rev. Dr. Heber Brown, it's something we should absolutely be doing.
When we think about improving the quality of life for Black and marginalized communities, we think of reducing crime or voting rights.
The solution is right in our backyards, literally.
The former pastor developed a network called the Black Church Food Security Network (BCFSN) to address this "systemic problem," as he calls it.
This program encourages people to grow food from their own land, big or small, so people can take better care of themselves.
This message starts in the church.
"It's one of the easiest messages you'll find to gain resonance in the African American community. Every single church in every single Black community can raise their hands and say we have a high prevalence of diabetes, heart disease, COPD, cancers and so much more. There is no church in Black America, there's no church, in our community that does not have these health challenges," Brown said.
While pastoring the Pleasant Hope Baptist Church, he was determined to change health outcomes so he started a garden on church grounds.
"What we decided to do was to start a garden right there at the church, started growing our own food, we decided to go that route, instead of going the route of partnering with a food charity organization, or asking for donations," Brown said. "And so that church garden really transformed our ministry, so much so that other churches and other pastors started to take note."
There are about 250 churches involved in this network across the country, growing and selling food from their own land.
"We have Black churches across the nation growing all kinds of food. And really in that way, we are spurring the co-creation of kind of a 'FUBU' food system. A for us by us food system that empowers us to take care of ourselves and to partner with other communities from a position of strength and power, as opposed to depending on benevolence and charity," he explained.
Brown says they grow tomatoes and bell peppers, while other member churches grow everything from corn to watermelon.
You don't need acres and acres to grow food Brown says.
"Many of the backyards in Baltimore are far enough. You might just have to grow one thing as opposed to a whole range of things. You can grow on your windowsill, you can grow in a bucket, you can grow in a boot."
The idea of growing your own food can be intimidating, but it doesn't have to be a solo project.
"That should be all the more reason to connect with your neighbors, connect with community organizations and connect with one of our many churches in the city who oftentimes need help managing the land that they do have...It knocks down the idea that individualism is the pathway to learning how to become a farmer, no, you got to join a group get with some other people do it together, you're going to need each other," Brown explained.
In 10-15 years, he wants the younger generation to understand the power of self help.
"I would want people to know that we have it within us to build what we need not only for ourselves, but for those who will come after us. Just like every other community in Baltimore has bastions of places where they built things for their own community," Brown said.
"I mean, you can go to upper Park Heights and you see a community that's built something for themselves, you can go to Little Italy, and you'll see a place where they've built something for themselves or Chinatown in many communities across the country or the Greek part of the city. African Americans can have the same thing. We're not begging or we're not borrowing but we're building for ourselves."