This video shows how community activist and Black feminist Tanya Fields started an urban farm in the Bronx called The Black Joy Farm.
Students will learn how the farm provides the community with affordable access to healthy food, recipes, fresh fruits and vegetables, and locally produced eggs.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This video shows students how community members can work to promote healthy food access and green spaces through urban farming.
Tanya Fields explains how imperialism, colonialism, and slavery have negatively impacted Black communities' relationship with growing food.
Additional Prerequisites
The video begins with an advertisement.
Students should be familiar with the concept of a sliding fee to understand how the farm provides free or discounted food boxes to those in need using the revenue from the sale of full-price food boxes.
Differentiation
Civics and government classes could research the steps needed to secure a license for a community garden in their own community. Students could discuss what kinds of laws or procedures might make it easier for people of marginalized genders or other historically marginalized groups to access land and licenses to start projects like the Black Joy Farm.
Science and health classes could use this video to talk about why fresh fruits and vegetables are an important component to healthy diet and better health in general.
Social studies and ethics classes could discuss the problems many lower-income communities face getting access to fresh, healthy food and the compounding effects on the overall health of the community.
Other resources on this topic include this article about a Los Angeles farmer and garden educator, this Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell video that explains the importance of local and seasonal produce, and this video on food extinction and ancient plant varieties.
Scientist Notes
The video illustrates the importance of community gardening which can help improve food accessibility to marginalized genders and low-income households and communities. This is inspiring and recommended for teaching.
Standards
Social Sciences
Civics and Government (K-12)
8.9 Compare historical and contemporary means of changing societies and identify individuals and/or groups promoting the common good, including the importance of advocacy and activism related to socio-economic resistance (i.e., civil rights, LGBTQ+ rights, workers' rights) for the expansion of justice, equality, and equity for individuals and/or groups of previously historically underrepresented groups.
Economics (K-8)
6.8 Evaluate alternative approaches or solutions to economic issues in terms of benefits and costs for historically marginalized groups and individuals in early major western and non-western civilizations.
