Faheem Carter (he/him) is the head farmer of the Florence Fang Community Farm in San Francisco, which has become the largest community farm in San Francisco. He started as a local self-taught farmer but has brought his knowledge and vision into this space where he is the farmer-in-charge of the community farm and also leads the Bayview Black Organic Farmers Program. Since 2020-2021, NHC San Francisco has frequently partnered and volunteered with Florence Fang Community Farm.
The farm is open to accepting any volunteers and encourages the community to come together to contribute to these efforts of bringing fresh and sustainable food to the table.
Q. What inspired you to initially join and grow this farm?
“I did not have access to healthy food growing up here in San Francisco, area code 94124, so that inspired me to grow my own food and connected me to this space. I think what makes this farm so special is we’re multi-cultural, have different ages, and we’re right in the middle of the city where you have old and young working side by side. You have people of different ethnicities helping each other and people learning about the vegetables and crops that we often just buy at the grocery store.”
Q. Has there been any specific moment at this farm that brings you joy?
“Seeing the community take ownership of this [farm], like different high schools, cohort groups, older immigrants, people who grew up in San Francisco, just seeing people have a connection to our urban farm.”
Q. Could you tell me more about what the experience of going from farm to table is like?
“You have to be patient, understand, work the land, understand the land, and learn the best time to grow the food you want to eat. It’s nice, [but] it can get overwhelming because you may grow something and have more than what you can eat. But then that just makes you want to give it out for free to a friend or a neighbor, and there’s enjoyment in that, to watch someone have a smile on their face just because you gave them some free lettuce or free tomatoes.”
Q. What words of advice would you have for someone who is interested in food justice or looking to enter a similar line of work?
“I think it’s very important to know about policies, how food works, and how to get access to food that we all like to eat. If you want to be a farmer, I would make sure that policies get passed and that food banks are open to the public. I would say that you are doing work that is needed.”
Though I grew up in Southern California for the majority of my life, I moved to Davis, California for university and have stayed in Northern California since then.
