Jonshell Johnson: Healing Through Culturally Relevant Farming

One of the most important things you can do regarding climate change is talk about it.

• Jonshell became motivated to grow food as a way to address health issues that people in her family and community face, including high blood pressure and diabetes. She shows others it’s possible to honor culturally important flavors and foods that fit with your family and identity. In her work to grow healthy foods, Jonshell shares that she avoids pushing people toward vegetarian or vegan diets. “Seafood is the softest part of my heart… I never want gumbo to go away, I never want salt to go away, I don’t want sugar to go away. At the same time being able to learn the balance, being able to learn that we share a relationship with plants in that way, which plants need a balance. So when we are in an imbalance, that's when we have things happen to us.” What are foods that are central to your culture? How might we embrace foods that encourage health and wellness for people and the planet while not sacrificing the flavors important to us?
• Jonshell’s earliest memories with plants were through her grandmother, who had an indoor prayer plant that opened in the morning and closed at night. This closing and unfurling sparked a lifelong fascination with the power of plants. “Now I am able to see there is so much more to it; there are seeds, soil, the relationship you have with the land, and the weather, and how all of these things coincide together.” Have you ever planted a seed or grown food? How might this experience change your relationship with the land and the foods you eat?
• Growing and sharing food can bring people together, especially in finding common ground. “It means a lot to me, especially in our political climate, being in the U.S. Being able to be a Black woman, with Black children and to be able to make meaningful relationships along the way has been the biggest and best skill that I could take on.” As that of a Black woman, Jonshell’s work at Grow Dat Youth Farm is personally significant, acknowledging the role that slavery has had “not being able to track my ancestors, hurts a lot…This is a way for me to have a better relationship with food…. As a Black woman, it can constantly be healing within myself about the past… I think about how I am able to do this in a way that is a lot more comfortable than what my ancestors were afforded.” What aspects of your identity do you wish others who are different from you could understand? How might growing or sharing food bring people together to listen, engage in respectful conversation, and build trust to open up about important lived experiences?
• Jonshell held jobs in retail and fast food before her work at Grow Dat Youth Farm. She says her career journey showed her that these “jobs that demanded so much out of me and really didn’t put anything into me.” When talking with youth about their futures, she says we must understand what is sustainable and define what fulfilling work looks like for each of us. Grow Dat Youth Farm provides paid employment for youth leaders to learn skills that increase access to healthy foods while facilitating climate solutions. What are examples of careers in your community that you perceive as doing a good job creating a positive impact while investing in their employees’ health, wellness, and prosperity?

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