BattleField Farm's mission: Alleviate food deserts that are 'slowly killing' so many
Angela DennisIt’s been nearly four years since Chris Battle was senior pastor at the historic Tabernacle Baptist Church. After serving more than a decade, he's traded in his suit for overalls and is doing something he feels equally called to do: farming and motivating his neighbors to eat fresh fruits and vegetables.
Battle says he prepared all his life for pulpit ministry. Earning bachelor's and master's degrees in religion and pastoral care, he planned to retire from that role.
But, as fate would have it, he's on a new mission.
Battle worked an overnight job after he left his role at the church, giving him time to nurture his dream of urban farming by day.
His inspiration didn't just come from watching his grandmother till a garden when he was a little boy. It came from his heart for social justice work, too. That motivation called him to open his community garden known as BattleField Farm.
“I was convicted by an area of brokenness in our community: specifically food disparity in East Knoxville,” he said.
Years in the making
Battle started his first community garden in 2018 with his congregation on a vacant plot of land across the street from Tabernacle Baptist Church. During the process, he knocked on doors to rally neighbors around the idea of the garden. He ended up discovering just how disconnected he was from his community.
"It was a horrible feeling. I sat in my office for more than a decade and realized I didn't know the neighbors around my church."
After leaving his church and being forced to relocate from the Abby Fields property he had been farming two years ago near the Standard Knitting Mill, he got the opportunity to purchase his own 2-acre plot. He was able to raise the money to buy the property through a GoFundMe that was heavily supported by the community and found a permanent home for BattleField Farm. The dedication took place April 28.
The land is at 3624 Boyd's Bridge Pike in East Knoxville. Battle, who relies solely on volunteers, has hopes the farm can begin to see profits, but he remains committed even if no financial gain comes of it.
The farm plans to harvest produce, host groups and teach general gardening and composting to kids.
“We are also getting bees in next week. We call them the Cardi Bees," he said, laughing.
"We want to really help our young people learn the value of taking care of the Earth. We are about fighting food disparity but also creating community. There are no strangers at our farm," he said.
BattleField Farm will be a place where people from all backgrounds, political views, races and cultures can leave those differences in the dirt.
Why food insecurity is more prevalent in minority neighborhoods like East Knoxville
What is food insecurity, and what does it look like in Knoxville?
Food insecurity refers to a federal measure of lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The link between poverty and food availability has been well-documented since the mid-1990s.
Neighborhoods in which residents are hard-pressed to find affordable, healthy food are part of the landscape of poor, urban communities across the United States. With few supermarkets or farmer's markets, it's easier to find Oreos than a fresh salad bar.
According to research by Johns Hopkins University, a neighborhood's income isn't the only barrier to obtaining healthy food. When comparing communities with similar poverty rates, Black and Hispanic neighborhoods have fewer supermarkets than their white counterparts. Minority neighborhoods tend to have small markets bursting with junk-food options while full-service stores have whole-grain foods, dairy products and fresh produce.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has identified at least 15 food deserts in Knoxville, with the city's east side heavily represented in those findings. A food desert is an area that has limited access to affordable and nutritious food.
“Our mission in East Knoxville is to be an advocate for better eating, nutrition and to provide more available and affordable fresh fruits and vegetables. Your ZIP code shouldn’t determine your ability to eat healthy," Battle said. "In our community, you can't always find your greens, beans and potatoes, but you'll most certainly find processed foods and Cheetos. We live in a food desert."
In the eastern quadrant of the city, grocery stores and healthy food options are scarce, with one Kroger store serving the entire 37914 ZIP code and no grocers serving 37915. Those are the two predominantly African-American ZIP codes in the city.
"It's not just the drive-bys that are killing us," Battle said about gun violence. "It's the drive-thrus. When poor communities are denied access to affordable, nutritious food, you are slowly destroying that community."
BattleField Farm is trying to change that. He'll sell the farm's produce at the Eastside Sunday Market, a locally focused market held at Walter Hardy Park from 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays in June through September.
Overall food insecurity in Knoxville 11.7%
Feeding America, a hunger-relief organization, reported that Knox County's food insecurity rate in 2018 was 11.7%, with 53,150 people in Knox County who did not have reliable access to food. Amid COVID-19, the organization released a companion study that projected the impact of the pandemic on local food insecurity in 2020 and 2021.
Their findings based on unemployment, poverty and child poverty rates concluded that food insecurity has increased since the beginning of the pandemic.
Tennessee's projected rate of food insecurity among the overall population in 2021 is between 11% and 13%.
To donate or volunteer at the farm, contact Battle at Battlefieldfarm1@gmail.com.