As a child, my father, Alphonzo Jackson Sr., arrived in Milwaukee, WI, as one of six — soon to be eight — siblings. He recalls being a young child under the supervision of his grandmother Neal, running with a 100-foot hose to water her garden. This experience is what sparked his love for growing his own vegetables.

Fast forward 30 years, and with the wisdom of his mother-in-law, Annie B., my father has developed that same love of gardening. 

I serve as an Advisory Member Board for DC Greens, a new role that is part of the Community Engagement team at the organization. When my father came to the DMV area in October to visit me and my siblings, I was excited to show him the impactful work The Well at Oxon Run, DC Greens’ community farm, is doing to advance health equity and increase nutritious food access for the Ward 8 community. During his visit to the garden, he saw many practices he plans to incorporate when he returns home to Milwaukee. Some of these include composting, planting a crop of bush beans (which he now has, thanks to The Well), and using more natural forms of weed protection, like covering the dirt mounds in his garden. 

It was an enriching experience bonding over a love of growing crops and the ties to ancestors who also grew their own. The resilience and substance that your garden can provide us and our families if we harvest responsibly are invaluable, and I look forward to continuing to do the work of advancing health equity by building a just and resilient food system.