Black urban farmer Edwin Thomas talks how he is addressing food insecurity in Savannah

And a lot of people don’t understand, farming does not mean you have to have 700 acres and a mule to be able to produce. In my small plot of my mother’s backyard, in two months, I produced over 100 pounds of tomatoes.

By Raisa Habersham
Savannah Morning News
July 9, 2021

Excerpt:

RH: I’m always curious when people decide to become urban farmers. Tell us about some of the fruits and veggies you till.

ET: Well, a lot of Savannah is pretty much a food desert. A food desert is basically an environment with the lack of sufficient fresh and healthy food. A lot of the grocery stores are far away for a lot of people to even be able to purchase fresh produce. And with the pandemic going on, I was growing; I couldn’t give food away. Some people have literally never tasted a fresh tomato before, and that just caught my attention. And I just ran with it. I want to sell produce locally. I want to be able to get it to people who couldn’t make it to the store, or the elderly who don’t have cars, or just to be able to have the access to be able to get fresh and healthy produce.

RH: What’s been the reaction since you’ve started addressing food insecurity?

ET: At first it was rather slow; wasn’t too receptive. And a lot of people [were] thinking, “You’re a farmer, we live in Savannah, where do you have land to be able to do this type of thing?” And a lot of people don’t understand, farming does not mean you have to have 700 acres and a mule to be able to produce. In my small plot of my mother’s backyard, in two months, I produced over 100 pounds of tomatoes. So you can be an urban farmer or you can be a traditional farmer; there’s a lot of different growing techniques that you can do. … My family is from Dublin, Georgia. So it’s actually in my blood to do this type of thing.

RH: Tell us about your recent partnership with Forsyth Farmers Market.

ET: I work with the Forsyth Farmers’ Market, Farm Truck 912. The farm truck takes local growers and allows them to sell their produce to them. Farm Truck 912 goes into insufficient neighborhoods, food deserts, parks in a parking lot, or on a street, and they allow people to come and buy fresh produce at a lower rate than probably what you will buy in a grocery store.

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