Episode 212: Jonah Vitale

This week’s featured farmers are Jonah Vitale-Wolff and Leah Penniman. Leah Penniman is an educator, farmer, and food justice activist from Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, NY. She is committed to dismantling the oppressive structures that misguide our food system, reconnecting marginalized communities to land, and upholding our responsibility to steward the land the nourishes us. In her dual capacity as a public secondary school science teacher and as a farm educator, Leah joyfully and reverently connects learners to the intricate miracle that is this living planet and to their own power as agents of positive change in the community. In recognition of the truth that food sovereignty is a global struggle, Leah is also a core collective member of Ayiti Resurrect, and coordinates an ongoing reforestation and sustainability project with farmers in Haiti, her ancestral homeland. Leah’s work as an educator has been recognized nationally by the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program, the Teaching Channel, New Technology Network, College Board, National Science Teachers Association, Edutopia, Center for Whole Communities, and Rethinking Schools. Jonah Vitale-Wolff is a farmer activist educator from Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, NY. He is committed to creating relevant and effective alternatives to the oppressive structures that result in gaping disparities in our food systems and larger communities. In his role as operations manager as Soul Fire, Jonah gets to exercise his love for land, community, and spirit through growing food for his communities of Albany and Troy, NY, organizing around building a just food system, facilitating workshops, teaching young people, and training the next inspired farmer activists. Jonah’s work holds central the profound ways in which the sacred connection to land creates a powerful vessel for social change and personal transformation. In addition to being a farmer, Jonah is also a proud dad, partner and dancer. “There are so many ways that I feel this work is important for the liberation of our people. It’s not jut bout the food and the land but for sovereignty for all people.” [05:00] –Leah Penniman on Greenhorns Radio