CHRISTA NÚÑEZ

Founder and Director, The Learning Farm

New York City

CHRISTA NÚÑEZ is an African American entrepreneur, researcher, agriculture educator, social justice practitioner and storyteller. She focuses her work on creating cooperative land governance models and equitable food systems with African diaspora communities. As a facilitator for change in the realm of narrative building, education and food justice, she collaborates with stakeholders across multicultural, multigenerational and interdisciplinary lines, cooperating primarily on projects with children and families.

Her organizations are Planet Kidizen Inc of which The Learning Farm is a part, and Khuba International, her non profit that supports youth and family access, power and agency in land and food systems.

At The Learning Farm, children and families engage in the outdoors and discover their connection to local, sustainable food production and shared community meals.The Learning Farm's mission is to give children the tools, support, and motivation necessary to become responsible, knowledgeable and caring citizens. The Learning Farm does this through fostering a better understanding of where food comes from and involving kids in production, distribution and consumption of sustainably-farmed and fished, locally-produced food. Children learn to grow, harvest, cook and share the great bounty of what grows abundantly nearby to where they live and to do so in a mindful and caring way.

The Learning Farm is a place where community members immerse themselves in the study of living things, agriculture, and food, as well as have opportunity to brainstorm and discuss practical solutions to the challenges facing the planet with regard to how we grow food. Here, students learn the meaning and value of bio-diversity: how animals -- cows, horses, birds – interact beneficially with orchards, wildlands, woodlands; and how row crops – vines, root veggies, grains – do well right next to bush fruit and berries; and how insects and other beneficials – microbes, mycorrhizae, spongi – are their friends, all going in together to support a healthy and vibrant natural world and great food.