We have two special guests today: Strong Towns staff members Christa Theilen and Seairra Shepherd. Christa works as Strong Towns’ office assistant in our Brainerd, Minnesota, office and Seairra is a writer and multimedia creator based in central Illinois.
But besides serving at Strong Towns, they both also work part time at local small-scale farms. Christa’s is a vegetable farm and Seairra’s, an animal farm. We invited them on the show to talk about their experiences in this vital industry: growing the food we all eat and need to survive, and growing it close to home so it doesn’t require costly shipping or rely on global supply chains to get to our kitchens.
This life isn’t easy. Christa and Seairra both talk about the round-the-clock, 365-day nature of farm work, but also how much they love it and how rewarding it is to be outside, getting your hands dirty and literally seeing the fruits of your labor. They discuss the growing interest they’ve witnessed in local food in their regions and the ways their farms have gotten connected with people in the surrounding towns.
This isn’t the first conversation we’ve had with a local farmer on The Bottom-Up Revolution. But we think Christa and Seairra offer a unique perspective as workers on rural farms in the modern age.
Additional Show NotesBrambling Rows Farm (Brainerd, MN)
Trillium Dell Farm (Knoxville, IL)
Previous podcast episodes about local food: “Beth Hoffman: Getting Real About the Cost—and Value—of Farming,” “Alfred Melbourne: Growing Food, Growing Resilience,” and “Alex Hagler: An Entrepreneur Creating Opportunities for Other Entrepreneur.”
Read articles by Seairra Shepherd.
Send your story ideas to rachel@strongtowns.org.
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Support this podcast by becoming a Strong Towns member today.
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Making a Difference With Local Government
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Helping Incremental Developers Make Better Places
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Fighting the Housing Crisis as an Incremental Developer Part 2
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Advocating for Better Transit and Safe Streets
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Fighting the Housing Crisis as an Incremental Developer Part 1
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Becoming a Member of Local Government
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…City Building With Small-Scale Manufacturers
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The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Helping Local Advocates Improve Their Cities
The Bottom-Up Revolution Is…Unexpected Allies Fighting a Highway Expansion Project
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Sara Joy Proppe: Helping Churches Use Placemaking To Connect With the Community
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Maddy Novich: Not Your Typical Bike Activist!
Deatra Kemp: Helping First-Time Homebuyers Realize Their Dreams
Adam Greenfield and Miriam Schoenfield: Fighting Freeway Widening in Austin
Jessica Peacock: Fighting for a Family-Owned Grocery Store
Jon Jon Wesolowski: Chattanooga Urbanist Society
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