Bonton Farms isn't just growing fresh food; it's growing a prescription for better health, leaning into its 'food is medicine' philosophy to improve the community's health.
"Our new amazing initiative is going to be a FARMacy," Bonton Farms CEO and President Gabe Madison said. "So it's farm spelled F-A-R-M, and incorporating our whole mantra is, has always been, for food to be the medicine for the community."
The Dallas nonprofit urban farm's FARMacy will provide free or low-cost medically tailored meals, educational programs about health and cooking, and medical monitoring for people in the South Dallas community.
"This area has been disenfranchised a lot," Bonton Farms Farm Lead Ty Bowman said as he harvested fresh lettuce.
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"There's so much barriers they have to go through just to get healthcare, just to get fresh greens and healthy food. So it's important to be able to supply this stuff."
Bonton Farms is located in a food desert. The Bonton neighborhood is in the 75215 ZIP code, with the highest mortality rate in Dallas County. Of the residents there, 28% are below the poverty line and face more than double the rates of cancer, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and childhood obesity.
"If your environment dictates your health outcomes, then how can you change the environment to obtain better outcomes? That's what we are trying to do," Madison said. "Meeting your hunger needs, but in a healthy way that is culturally sensitive."
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"This is preferable because long-term management of chronic illness is going to be more expensive than you are eating your daily green, anti-inflammatory herbs, " Bowman said, pointing out many of them can be used in teas and oils to treat conditions. "Being able to help the people here is why it's so important."
Bonton Farms hopes to raise $250,000 during North Texas Giving Day on Sept. 19 to support the FARMacy program.
