 by Janie Whiteford
Chair, Board of Directors
Today, most people around the globe are asking how we can sustain ourselves in this time of crisis. Many are also asking how we can sustain one another, especially the most vulnerable, in the midst of a ‘hundred year’ event.
Our farm, our endeavor, is captured in our name, Common Roots. Our intention in choosing this name was to recognize, in particular, the commonality between people living with and without intellectual/developmental disabilities. Our farm’s landlord, the 12 families who founded Coastal Haven Families and who are building an affordable housing community that will include their adult children with disabilities, came together to create a hopeful future for those they love. At the heart of their vision is a strong belief that this future would indeed be made better if people with and without disabilities live together.
Leasing the majority of their parcel to our farm is not the most financially sensible thing they could do. In fact, it’s downright nonsense if the yardstick is wealth creation! Instead, these families have opted to dedicate nearly 4 beautiful acres to create a farm where food is produced in an ecologically sustainable way, by people with and without disabilities, with great care and attention to the health of our soil and surrounding riparian habitat.
Our Board has been talking a lot about what to do and what impact we can have during this pandemic. Our farm is small, it’s now spring and time for sowing seeds and preparing for planting, and we are heavily dependent upon volunteers. Do we move ahead with our crop plan? Do we risk financial losses if we can’t sell our products? Right now, the public health requirement for social distancing makes it impossible to carry on business as usual and no one knows when it will be safe to gather again.
We have decided to adhere to our vision of a more inclusive community and forge ahead. In outlining his New Deal, Franklin Roosevelt said, “When there is no vision, the people perish.” Though we are small, we know we can have a positive impact. Though Common Roots is a beginning farm, we already know we can grow healthy, nutritious fruits and vegetables to help sustain our community. We know people like Matthew, our newest intern, are counting on us to keep going. We have directed our staff to stick to the 2020 crop plan, so we are sowing seeds, planting spring cover crops, and preparing the greenhouse for leafy greens production.
Right now, we can’t open to our volunteers, but we are working on developing a schedule where we can stagger volunteer participation to keep the work of our farm going, while keeping everyone safe and healthy. We are making modifications to our CSA this year and hope you will consider buying direct from the farm if you are local, or buying our shelf stable products like culinary vinegars and strawberry shrub and marmalade if you aren’t. Please see our CSA article below for more details.
As always, we value and depend upon our supporters in so many ways. We hope we can help support you going forward.
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