To establish a resilient food community in Florida, Melissa DeSa has kickstarted a simple mission – taking care of seeds. Over 10 years ago, she began a seed library which shares seeds with the public, all with the goal of teaching people about plants and their preservation. This includes seed varieties such as the Seminole pumpkin that was historically cultivated by Native Americans. But as DeSa immersed herself in the project, growing seeds for gardens in schools and homes, she discovered two problems. The diversity of seeds, especially the rare and heirloom ones, was in jeopardy. At the same time, too few people were engaged in conservation as a result of barriers to inclusion. This urged her to protect the very foundation of the food we eat. Now through her non-profit Working Food, she’s cultivating seed stewardship among people with disabilities to protect the tiny pips that make a huge impact.
In Florida, people are limited to a few seed companies in the state, and if these businesses cannot meet the demand, grocery stores and therefore people would run out of local food. While sustainable growing methods are vital for communities and the environment, conservation initiatives often exclude marginalised groups as well. But DeSa is making it possible for people with disabilities to play their part. “I believe that it is crucial that we are inclusive of all races, all abilities, all genders because this work that we do impacts everybody that has the privilege to live and breathe on the planet,” DeSa says. Working alongside Grow Hub, an initiative supporting adults with disabilities, DeSa is training individuals to protect seeds and nurture the landscape, ultimately enabling them to make healthy food accessible.
Today, DeSa is not only delivering seed stewardship education to those with disabilities, but has made it attainable for underprivileged youth and families. “We try to tackle things from a systems approach because there’s a lot of pieces to a food network,” she says. Just as plants pass on their abundance for others to benefit, DeSa is empowering local communities through her project. With Working Food, she’s created a network that is both maximising biodiversity and creating a space for everyone to be conservationists within their own scope and abilities. “We’re not going to save the world, but at least in our little ways we can have ripple effects that’ll help affect change,” she says.
Footage and photos by Nomad Creative (Sami Kattan) and Working Food were used in the creation of this film.
