Indiana Black Loam Conference is headed to Gary

Nate and Robin Shannon are third generation small farmers. Shannon Farm and Homestead, LLC., specializes in growing and selling several varieties of collard greens. Shannon Farm and Homestead provides chemical free greens to area residents, farmer markets, restaurants, CSA boxes and free to those we are experiencing life challenges.

What began as a therapeutic backyard garden hobby in 2009, became Shannon Farm and Homestead, LLC., in 2016. Initially, we grew a variety of foods. We gave away most of what we grew to help feed senior members of our family, church, and neighborhood. Our supporters began to give donations and asked to purchase. The demand for fresh affordable vegetables grown by trusted members of the community opened the door to Shannon Farm and Homestead’s growth. Our passion became a purpose.

Because of the abundance of food grown we learned how to preserve through the canning process. We began to experiment with creating value added products to share as gifts with the purchase of greens. Again, people began to purchase those value added products. Ultimately we developed 3 very popular value added products. “Robin’s Sweet and Spicy Relish”, our best seller, is now sold in a variety of markets.

Our mission from our garden to our farm, has always been to fight food apartheid within our community, dismantle inaccessibility and to teach food sustainability one seed at a time. Urban farming has allowed us opportunities to teach about nutrition and growing food. Volunteers and student interns return each year to help in this collective mission. It encourages our community to know where food comes from, how it’s grown, how it can be preserved and how to connect with the people who grow it! We do this within the community by direct in home instruction in teaching that even an old kitchen pot or laundry basket can grow food.

Shannon Farm and Homestead, LLC., is Black owned and operated in the city of Gary, Indiana.