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Director of Agriculture Adam Weatherford examines produce on the Frank Community Farm property. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Frank Community Farm is located east of the city at 2218 Fenton St. in Henrico. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Crystal Stokes, president of Frank Community Farm (Photo courtesy Frank Community Farm)
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Crops growing on the farm include peppers, greens, eggplant and more. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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The fall CSA (community-supported agriculture program) at Frank Community Farm is at capacity, but there are a few slots open for its winter CSA. The farm plans to release information about 2021 summer shares soon. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Chickens on the farm (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
“There’s a saying, 'When you meet one person with autism, you meet one person with autism' — you can’t clump them into one set of characteristics,” says Crystal Stokes, a fifth-generation farmer and president of Frank Community Farm.
Tucked away off Fenton Street in Henrico east of the city, the farm is home to rows of peppers, turnips, beets, fennel, greens and about a dozen chickens. A recent rain has adorned the plants with water droplets as Stokes points out a section dedicated to yaupon, the only indigenous caffeinated plant to grow in North America.
"That's one of the jobs the interns really like, processing [the yaupon leaves]," Stokes says. For the past three years, the humble farm has not only cultivated produce, but also a space offering internship opportunities for neurodiverse adults with diagnoses such as autism and ADHD.
A former teaching assistant at the Dominion School for Autism in Mechanicsville, Stokes says, “A lot of my clients would tell me, 'My son is aging out of school and [doesn't] have anywhere to go. I don’t want them sitting at a day support [center] not quite ready for work, or [I] don’t like the job program they're in.' ”
A few years ago, Stokes met Adam Weatherford, a VCU graduate familiar with applied behavioral analysis (ABA) therapy for those with autism who had previously worked in San Francisco on an organic farm that focused on employing members of the neurodiverse community.
The two had similar backgrounds, with families rooted in farming. They understood the healing properties of being in the soil, the importance of growing food and returning to the land — they immediately connected.
“Being around plants and nature in general is something that makes me feel alive and calm and meditative,” says Weatherford, director of agriculture for the farm. “Part of me always wanted to give back and be in service in some sort of way.”
In 2017, Stokes and Weatherford transformed a plot of land in the Montrose neighborhood into the original Frank Community Farm, which now serves as their teaching garden. Since then, the farm has continued to evolve.
Interns on the farm work at their own pace, and jobs range from getting one's hands dirty growing plants to working farmers markets and making deliveries for the farm's community-supported agriculture (CSA) program. Although the farm is not accepting new interns for this year, typically there are anywhere from five to eight at a time.
Before interns start, they meet with a licensed ABA specialist, Rachel Mathews, who serves as vice president of training and behavioral support for the farm. She completes an initial assessment and determines their goals, which range from socialization to learning how to grow tomatoes.
“Everybody has a thing that they like and want to learn,” Stoke says, noting that most of the interns range in age from 18-35. “We make it very inclusive, we don’t say, ‘Oh, you have to do these things.' We want them to enjoy what they do.”
The team at the farm strives on finding interns' strengths and helping them continue to demonstrate and build upon them, regardless of whether they are related to farming. Stokes says people with autism and other neurodiversities often miss out on opportunities for socialization, especially if they live alone. She says the farm is therapeutic.
“You see bees pollinating, pretty butterflies, [you] get your hands in the soil, and you naturally become a more positive and calm person, it’s very meditative,” Stokes says.
The lack of resources for adults with autism has long been an issue in the neurodiverse community. Services are limited, but Stokes says it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach.
“This is like the highlight of their week,” she says with a smile. "Some people don’t want to sit at a day support [center] all the time, … they want to learn skills and be around neurotypical people.”
Stokes and Weatherford say the impact the program has had over the past three years on the lives of interns and their families is clear, as well as the impact it has had on their own lives.
“Parents see a difference in their adults when they come home more relaxed and clear-headed and speak up for themselves and things like that,” Stokes says. “They notice a difference when we’re off because of weather or because of vacation."
Frank Community Farm recently obtained a half-acre property a block away from its teaching garden in Montrose. The goal is to build another small community garden there by next summer. While there has been less time dedicated to teaching due to the pandemic, the focus has shifted to growing and donating food to Mutual Aid Disaster Relief Richmond and Richmond Food Justice Alliance.
“We’ve seen the need for local food around town for people that can’t afford food or living in food deserts,” Stokes says.
Typically the farm is funded through income from teaching the interns, with the proceeds from selling produce and eggs designated for operational costs. Since the onset of COVID-19, new internships have been paused, which has had an impact on revenue. There is currently an online fundraiser to help Frank Community Farm navigate the fall and winter months.
One of the interns' most successful suggestions: the farm’s CSA program, which has grown from 10 members to 60 plus a waiting list in the last three years.
“They are all brilliant in their own way and have something to give. They teach us so much and really help the business,” Stokes says of the interns. “They have a different way of thinking about things.”
Produce and eggs from Frank Community Farm can be found at Little House Green Grocery, Outpost Richmond and Perk! Coffee & Lunchbox in Bon Air. Moving forward, Stokes says she wants to continue to break misconceptions surrounding neurodiversity.
“We want to get more people in here to learn," she says. "Having programs like these ... gives them something to feel good about. You’re working towards something valuable in the community, making friends, socializing and having fun. We're constantly growing in so many aspects."
