PLOW FORWARD WITH FAITH IN THE FARM MARKETPLACE

PLOW FORWARD WITH

FAITH IN THE FARM MARKETPLACE

By Faith, From the Farm to the Family, to the Fridge, to the Fork. — Luke 9:62 | Link: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/video/fort-worth-church-building-garden-boxes-to-help-address-food-insecurity/

The Faith in the Farm Marketplace is a faith-rooted community development initiative that transforms available land, natural resources and willing hands into opportunities for growth. Guided by the command of Jesus in Luke 9:62 to put our hands to the plow and keep moving forward, this faith-based ministry brings together three powerful projects: the Buffalo Soldiers 4-H Club, the Funkytown Food Forest and the Peace From a Pallet Project.

Each project addresses a different need, but all three share one mission: to cultivate people, produce food and build healthier, more peaceful communities.

Under the leadership of Pastor Kyev P. Tatum, Sr., Faith in the Farm is turning faith into action at New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth’s 76104 ZIP code. After more than 30 years of service in civil rights, health justice, education and community development, Pastor Tatum is using agriculture as another way to help families eat better, live longer and build a healthier community.

The Faith in the Farm Marketplace works to increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products and healthy sources of protein while addressing the serious health challenges associated with food insecurity. It recognizes that food access is not simply an agricultural issue—it is a matter of health, dignity, economic opportunity and justice.

The Buffalo Soldiers 4-H Club: Developing the People

The Buffalo Soldiers 4-H Club focuses on youth development. Through agriculture, animal care, science, technology, leadership and the proud legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers, young people receive hands-on opportunities to develop responsibility, discipline, teamwork and a commitment to service.

We are not simply teaching children how to grow crops or care for animals—we are helping them grow in character, confidence and purpose. By connecting agriculture with history, education and leadership, the club prepares young people to become responsible stewards of the land and effective leaders in their communities.

The Funkytown Food Forest: Producing the Food

The Funkytown Food Forest focuses on garden production and community food access. It transforms underused land into a living source of fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and hope.

In a neighborhood historically described as a food desert, the Food Forest demonstrates that healthy food can be grown where people live. It reconnects families to the soil while moving nutritious food from the farm to the family, from the family to the fridge and from the fridge to the fork.

The Peace From a Pallet Project: Building Places to Grow

The Peace From a Pallet Project focuses on garden-box development. Repurposed wooden pallets are transformed into raised garden boxes that can be placed at homes, churches, schools and community gathering spaces.

These garden boxes make growing food more accessible while demonstrating that something once discarded can be reclaimed, rebuilt and given a life-giving purpose. Every garden box becomes a symbol of restoration, productivity and peace. Through this project, communities are not simply building garden boxes—they are building hope, developing ownership and creating peaceful places where life can grow.

Together, these three projects create a complete cycle of community transformation:

The Buffalo Soldiers 4-H Club develops the people.

The Funkytown Food Forest produces the food.

The Peace From a Pallet Project builds the places where food can grow.

This is more than farming. It is faith put into action. It is youth development, food production, neighborhood beautification, environmental stewardship, economic opportunity, community health and violence prevention growing from the same soil.

Connecting Local Producers to Local Communities

LOYAL TO THE SOIL

In collaboration with P. Wade Ross and Ken Ross, the Faith in the Farm Marketplace participates in the Texas Bypass: Local Food Purchasing Program, a transformative initiative of the Texas Small Farmers and Ranchers Community-Based Organization.

The Texas Bypass connects local food producers with institutional buyers, community organizations and underserved markets. It promotes a local, sustainable and equitable food system that helps ensure fresh, nutritious and locally grown food reaches the people and communities that need it most.

The program supports small and mid-sized farmers, ranchers and growers by creating streamlined pathways for them to sell their products to wholesale and institutional buyers. By strengthening relationships among producers, purchasers and community-based organizations, the Texas Bypass helps reinforce local food-supply chains, stimulate local economies and improve community access to healthy food.

Participating producers may benefit from:

Access to new and more stable markets
Reduced barriers to selling products to larger purchasers
Opportunities to participate in group certifications
Collaborative marketing and promotional opportunities
Technical assistance with packaging, distribution and logistics
Support in establishing fair and sustainable market prices
Continued training in soil health, food safety and business fundamentals

Through the Texas Bypass, the Faith in the Farm Marketplace serves as a bridge between the people who produce healthy food and the families, churches and community organizations that need it. This partnership helps move food beyond the farm and into neighborhoods where access has historically been limited.

Loyal to the Soil is more than a slogan. It represents a commitment to honoring the land, supporting the people who cultivate it and building a food system that serves both producers and families. It means remaining faithful to the soil, faithful to the community and faithful to the work God has placed in our hands.

Growing Health, Hope and Opportunity in 76104

In partnership with the Texas Small Farmers and Ranchers Community-Based Organization, Prairie View A&M University and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, the Faith in the Farm Marketplace works to provide fresh produce, protein-rich foods and dairy products to central-city communities that lack reliable access to healthy and affordable food.

This mission is rooted in Fort Worth’s Morningside neighborhood and ZIP code 76104—a community with the lowest life expectancy in Texas and some of the nation’s most serious disparities in infant mortality, poverty and access to nutritious food.

We believe people should not have to leave their neighborhoods to find the food they need to live healthy and productive lives. We believe healthy food should be available, accessible and affordable in every community. Most importantly, we believe faith must move beyond words and become visible through service.

At the Faith in the Farm Marketplace, we are putting our hands to the plow and refusing to look back. We are cultivating young leaders, transforming neglected spaces, supporting local producers, increasing access to healthy food, strengthening families and planting seeds of peace throughout our community.