Tom Tom reporter Adam Chellberg sits with volunteer director Mitchell Valentine.
Faith, family, friends, finances, fences, food, fitness and fun—those are the eight Fs that Mitchell Valentine, the volunteer director of ANT Farm, lives his life by; they also guide him in running the farm. Last year,Valentine and his associate Bernard Kondenar set out to establish a small, family-run farm and farm stand operation. When they approached Antioch Mayor Larry Hanson with their plan, he suggested getting Antioch Community High School involved. That’s exactly what they did.
Kondenar and Valentine proposed their plan of establishing a family farm run by students and community members to former ACHS Principal John Whitehurst. Whitehurst loved their methods of organic farming so much that he invited them to teach a few foods classes about organic farming and recruit any interested students in the process.
Among these half dozen or so full-time student volunteers is ACHS senior Samuel Smithson.
“[Working on the farm has] changed my outlook on a lot of things… I’m completely re-evaluating my future after this program,” said Smithson.
Smithson has become a crucial member of the farm since he first began volunteering late last school year. He now serves as a liaison of sorts when it comes to ACHS relations. Smithson is currently working on establishing a club outside of school, with some school support, to organize field trips to other family farms and educate students about organic farming. He supports Valentine’s mission of education and sustainability.
ACHS senior Sam Smithson picks a luscious Tomatoe.
Valentine makes one thing very clear about the purpose of ANT Farm: it is not to make a profit, not even so much to provide for the community, but rather to educate.
“Nobody has a right to be anything till they’re a farmer first. That sounds a little extreme, but I see this with my own eyes as a cosmic truth,” Valentine said.
In addition to basic farming knowledge, Valentine feels that working on the farm provides valuable life skills. The farm itself is in the middle of an important transition from summer to fall. To compensate for the change in seasons, farm members are currently setting up their greenhouse. The farm members are very excited to start planting more leafy greens, such as kale and winter spinach, to add to their existing tomatoes, potatoes and some odds and ends.
Smithson’s contributions to this program, the Antioch community and ACHS are also what make him this month’s ONE|SEQUOIT. To read his story, follow this link.
