Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiara Matthews.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Tiara Matthews (Farmer Tiara) is an Urban Farmer with 6.5 years experience growing food on vacant lots in Baltimore City. Before becoming an urban farmer, Tiara was a Property Manager in Baltimore City & Park Heights working intensely in Eviction Prevention & Resources specializing in keeping families together. Tiara is a University Of MD Master Gardener, and University Of MD Beginner Farmer. Farmer Tiara is the President of the Plantation Park Heights Urban Farm, and she leads a pack of youth & young adults to support the elderly, children, and families of Park Heights & Baltimore City by growing food on vacant lots with youth & young adults but especially growing food and distributing it with corner boys. Growing food with elementary school children, college students, and corner boys during the COVID-19 pandemic is a real thing and it’s happening in Baltimore using progressive systems and applications, including agricultural software, new digital technologies, and an urban farmer organizational app. Farmer Tiara is a powerful female voice in Park Heights and uses her platform to encourage children & young adults to do the work and grow more food. She is inspired daily by her Junior Urban Farmers and their dedication to a better quality of life. Chosen “Top 10 AgInnovation Team in the USA 2021” – American Farm Bureau Foundation. This team is building “AgriHoodBaltimore” – a thriving marketplace, community-supported agriculture, and urban farmer training resource institute right here in Park Heights. In her free time, Farmer Tiara likes to cook, give free fresh vegetables, fruits, eggs & herbs away, continue her aging studies at JHU Odyssey Program, grow exotic plants, and travel the globe with her junior urban farmers.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s not an easy road with community building, urban agriculture, teaching & working with communities or reminding them to tap the power within on how to create their own work and manage their own resources. Some of the struggles along the way have been generation curses, when you think about it comes out to health disparities, but obesity, poverty, crime, drugs, settling for mediocrity, pettiness, feeling ignored, and mental health challenges. Then here comes the second leg of the struggle the poverty pimps, people achieving high levels of academic accolades, then appointed to speak on behalf of black and brown folks meanwhile, completely lacking knowledge of who we are and what we do. This group of “social impact investors” use the very same BABYLONIAN techniques and strategies to control our innovation. Reminding that these are just some of the struggles.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I started this journey working with Plantation Park Heights in 2017 growing herbs and vegetables on vacant lots in Baltimore. 🌶 Today we grow #CleanerGreenerFoods with children, during COVID-19, to feed the elderly, and those at risk, in #ParkHeights. We are currently cultivating 5 acres in the middle of #NorthwestBaltimore! 🤩
Our goal is to increase the number of urban farms and junior urban farmers in Baltimore.
We have re-aligned our investments in affordable housing, AgEducation, youth empowerment, and family wrap-around services. Together we are improving the lives of youths in Baltimore by providing diverse, inclusive, sustainable, community investments and opportunities that promote equity while attracting the right partnerships here in Park Heights.
Thank you to the group of dedicated young people, Ayodele Laveau, Liam Campbell-Teague, Bria Kennedy-Lane, Imani Boykin, Keyshawn Smith, Elijah Staton, Elijah Bailey, Tevin Triplett, Tyler Triplett, Damaya Smith, Isha Joseph and all the dedicated young urban farmers who volunteer at PPHUF.
Thank you to Farmer Chippy for advocating on behalf of all urban farmers!
Thank you for the opportunity to talk about Urban Agriculture and growing food on vacant lots with elementary school children! 👩🏿💻
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
No luck all magic vibes ancestors, and God. All of them played an continue to play an important role in my life and journey as an urban farmer in Baltimore City! The role of magic vibes ancestors, and God allowed the Agrihood Baltimore urban farming team to save a legacy farmers market in Druid Hill Park. We now host the Agrihood Farmers Market at Druid Hill Park starting the first Wednesday of June, and will be every Wednesday from 3:30 pm to 7:30 pm starting June 7, 2023! This market allows us to train our youth and junior urban farmers to create their own work and manage their own resources, and we are currently accepting vendor applications and inquiries at plantationparkheights@gmail.com
Contact Info:
- Website: plantationparkheights.org
- Instagram: @cleanergreenerfoodsinc
- Facebook: Plantation Park Heights Urban Farm
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/aGS7Y_Mm004
Image Credits
Blair Lashley Photography
