海角社区

Nicole Ryane Johnson Used 海角社区 AgCenter鈥檚 Grow Louisiana Program to Start a Small Farming Revolution in Lafayette

You鈥檝e heard the saying, 鈥淕ive a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.鈥� What about teaching him how to teach fishing, and feeding a community? That鈥檚 what Nicole Ryane Johnson from New Iberia is doing. She used a free 海角社区 AgCenter program, Grow Louisiana for beginner farmers, to start a small farming revolution in Lafayette. Johnson is helping to turn a low-income food desert into urban gardens, encouraging self-sufficiency among neighbors and a sprouting of new small businesses. Her story shows how an entire community can benefit from one person鈥檚 education, especially when the knowledge and methodology are backed by research.

With AgCenter support, Johnson and her partner Trey Lively launched their own farm. Johnson also co-founded a twice-a-week neighborhood farmers market, Fightingville Fresh, and won a grant from the United Way of Acadiana to fund 22 other beginner growers, whom she鈥檚 now helping to build raised garden beds, outfit with seeds and tools, and support with workshops, mentoring, and sales.

In addition, Fightingville Fresh will soon be hosting a cohort of Louisiana Central鈥檚 Farmer Training Program, which is similar to 海角社区 AgCenter鈥檚 Grow Louisiana program and supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

鈥淭he Grow Louisiana program allowed me to consider farming as a career and understand the business side of farming. Without that program, I probably wouldn't be farming at scale, and I probably wouldn鈥檛 have the farmers market or be helping others grow. Honestly, I give it all to Grow Louisiana.鈥�

Nicole Ryane Johnson, co-founder of Fightingville Fresh and 海角社区 AgCenter alumna