Post on 23-Feb-2020
Summary
How do you grow hope? For a start, you can visit Bonton Farm-Works,
located in a small neighborhood about five miles south of downtown
Dallas. The area was considered a food desert; the nearest grocery store is
about a three-hour roundtrip bus ride for 63% of residents who do not
have a personal vehicle and therefore, depend on neighborhood liquor
stores and gas stations for their groceries. This dearth of food options
combined with diets mainly of preserved nutritionally-deficient foods
leads to poor health conditions, including cardiovascular disease,
diabetes, stroke and cancer, for those who live here.
Bonton Farms not only fills the need for healthier foods in the area, but
also acts as a platform for spiritual transformation and community
development. They work to cultivate a sustainable and vibrant farm that
utilizes the most innovative urban gardening techniques, providing the
residents of the neighborhood with an opportunity to learn, gain job
training, and have access to local and organic foods.
Imagine a lot at a dead-end street with overgrown woods and vegetation.
In a neighborhood adjacent to a concrete manufacturing facility, this land
was littered with refuse from the manufacturing operations and was
Quick Facts Location 6905 Bexar St. Dallas, Texas 75215
Program Inception 2014 by Daron Babcock
Income About $4,000 in food sales per month
Animals Chickens, goats, turkeys, rabbits, and beehives
Dairy & Produce Variety of vegetables along with milk, eggs and honey
Bonton Farm-Works
Bonton Farms’ Mission:
“An agricultural
intervention to restore
health, create jobs,
and ignite hope in
South Dallas.”
Case Study:
Urban Farms
What is a Food
Desert?
The U.S. Department
of Agriculture defines
a food desert as “a low
-income urban area
where residents have
to travel further than a
mile to access fresh
food.” Not only do
most food deserts
have no access to a
grocery store, their
only options are fast
food restaurants and
convenience stores
that offer few options
for healthy, affordable
food.
Case Study: Bonton Farm-Works
Summary (continued) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
overlooked until Daron Babcock decided it was the perfect location to start
his community garden. The garden began as a small vegetable patch on this
vacant lot and grew to two acres in less than two years. In early 2016, a Dallas
businessman donated 18 acres of land to expand the farm.
With this donation, Bonton Farms will start construction on a new
community marketplace, The Market at Bonton Farms, in 2017. This market
will sell the produce from the farm as well as serve the community. A café will
serve breakfast and lunch during the day, and health and wellness classes will
take place in the afternoons and evenings, further transforming a
neighborhood that was once isolated and dilapidated.
In 2017, Bonton Farms will also complete the Bonton Farms Extension, a 40-
acre area located in southeast Dallas. This extension, only a 15-minute drive
from the original location, will allow more crops to be grown and will provide
a home for more animals as the farm continues to quickly expand.
Sustainable Principles
Community development
Community garden
Farmers market
Organic
Urban farms
For more information
about Bonton Farm-Works,
click here.