Founder Restorative Farms talks about sustainable food projects

Although many people have never heard of Restorative Farms in South Dallas, the nonprofit is developing two things that help strengthen low-income communities: a nutrient-rich urban sustainable agriculture system and jobs.

The Dallas Express had the opportunity to speak with Brad Boa, co-founder and director of partnerships and collaboration for Restorative Farms.

To create the organization’s first working farm in its farming system, Hatcher Station Farm, the nonprofit leased a 0.39-acre parcel from Dallas Area Rapid Transit for $10 per year as part of a “beautification lease.”

Hatcher Station Farm is committed to nurturing new farmers, farm managers, entrepreneurs, leaders and community managers who can contribute to the local economy and promote healthy living. The farmers at the training center use smart irrigation systems, crop rotation methods and other sustainable practices to ensure high yields and healthy soil.

Boa’s commitment to community is holistically circular in that he wants to educate and empower people to feed themselves and their families healthy food, strengthening not only their bodies but also their skills. The hope is that this will lead to jobs that will allow them to afford better food choices and therefore be less susceptible to disease.

“60% of Americans have a chronic disease, depending on what we eat,” says Boa. “These chronic diseases are magnified in underserved communities.”

Boa explained that people get sick because they have so many easily accessible, cheaper food and calorie choices available to them, mainly due to ultra-processed foods.

Research has shown that the body processes calories differently depending on their quality. Ultra-processed foods typically have low nutritional value and high levels of calories, refined sugars, salt and fat, contributing to the country’s obesity crisis.

“Ironically, we are making ourselves sick from the prosperity of all the calories we have,” Boa said.

Boa noted that the return on investment regarding the way money is used for urban agriculture is not sustainable.

“People always say the problem is land. I am the only one who says that land is not the problem,” Boa explains. “We can get in my truck, and I can take you to eight, nine or ten failed urban gardens or farms in churches or communities where people put hard-earned money and time and effort into it, and then it fails. ”

Boa insisted it was about people.

“I want to make sure I’m doing something that’s sustainable, not something that makes people feel good for a weekend,” Boa said. “Farming is hard work. We need people who know what they’re doing so that we can have some level of success: people who want to do it and people who can keep doing it.”

Boa works with Richard Miles, founder of Miles of Freedom. Miles was wrongfully convicted of murder and aggravated assault at the age of 19 and sentenced to 60 years. He spent 15 years in prison before his innocence was recognized, leaving the Dallas County Jail on October 10, 2009. Miles of Freedom helps bridge the gap from “prison to promise,” according to the website.

“Every month, approximately 700 people are transferred from the Texas prison system into the Southern Sector. Where are they going? How do they get back on their feet? Richard’s group helps with this,” said Boa.

“In 2015, Richard, knowing my interest in agriculture, pointed out that there was a garden in the back of the MLK Community Center that was never maintained. So we gathered some money and some people, and in the spring of 2016 we rejuvenated the garden. By July the garden was dead again,” he said, illustrating his point that people were the biggest problem rather than a lack of land.

“Again, you have to look at the return on investment,” Boa explains. “The hours you put into something. If it ends with you, it is not sustainable.”

Boa emphasized that in some upper-class neighborhoods, gardening is a hobby that is considered fun and therapeutic.

“What people don’t understand, however, is that many people in South Dallas are struggling to work two jobs just to pay the electric bill or feed their children tomorrow. They don’t have the luxury of gardening as a hobby,” says Boa.

“It’s hard to preach nutrition when someone is hungry,” he added.

Determined not to give up, Boa identified the urgent need to create a nonprofit organization that could effectively and efficiently allocate funds to areas where individuals face significant challenges in accessing nutritious yet low-priced food options.

In 2016, Boa met Tyrone Day, one of Miles of Freedom’s clients. Day was also imprisoned for a crime he did not commit and remained in prison for almost 26 years. While in prison, Day learned horticulture.

“Tyrone became one of our co-founders,” Boa said. “We were able to create a job for him so he could earn a living and exercise the expertise he had developed in prison. He managed the seedling nurseries.”

Boa would meet Owen Lynch, who would also become one of the co-founders of Restorative Farms. In 2017, Boa and Lynch took over the empty lot Miles pointed out to him and built a 16-by-20-foot greenhouse.

Boa’s goal was to “create a seedling farm that could be sustainable, not only ecologically, but also economically.”

Restorative Farms’ mission is to “promote a vibrant and viable community-based urban farming system in South Dallas…a community most in need of access to fresh food and employment,” according to its website.

By taking this proactive step in joining forces with others, Boa explained that Restorative Farms is making a meaningful contribution to advancing food security and improving the well-being of communities affected by this issue.

“You have to feel like you are doing something in this world, instead of just feeding yourself,” says Boa.