Forging Forward is a series of eight articles about our region’s recovery and resiliency in the time of  COVID, presented with the generous support of the Pittsburgh Foundation. Read about their upcoming 2020 Critical Needs campaign, which culminates in a day of donations on August 19, 2020.

In the second article in our series, Natalie Bencivenga visits with Raqueeb Bey and Celeste Taylor to look at their visionary work in addressing Homewood’s food apartheid.

Gardening can seem like a magic trick that only those with green thumbs can do well, but letting go of fear and playing in the dirt may be just the cure for reconnecting to Mother Earth. “I grew up in the lower Hill with fig trees, strawberries, and tomatoes in the backyard and I loved helping my parents tend to them,” said Raqueeb Bey, founder and executive director of The Black Urban Gardeners and Farmers of Pittsburgh Co-op. She also is the GRC Coordinator at Grow Pittsburgh’s Garden Resource Center, founder of Mama Africa’s Green Scouts and sits on several boards pertaining to gardening and food justice.  

She nurtured her love of nature by volunteering as a garden manager with the Western Pennsylvania Conservation Community Garden after moving to Atlanta, GA. She returned to Pittsburgh in 2000 to be closer to family. “When I came home, I started volunteering and managed a community garden in the lower Hill on Fifth Ave. in the Uptown/SOHO neighborhood. We ended that work in 2001 because the new building manager wouldn’t let us use their water next door. At that point, I didn’t know how to harvest water, so we looked for a new place to grow,” she recalled. There was a small community off of Fifth Ave and Moultrie St. through the Harry Orlando Memorial Community Garden, and she asked if she could use the space. 

“I wanted to teach children how to grow food. There were twelve of us in the summer of 2011 and we taught seventeen children.” That was the beginning of  Mama Africa’s Green Scouts which she founded to guide African youth in an assembly of awareness in green education, environmental sustainability and justice. “We learned a lot of things. More kids wanted to get involved and more people wanted to help us. We wanted parents to learn, too. By teaching Black children and underserved communities how to grow food, we also grew minds and helped our community develop skills,” she added. 

By 2013, Bey expanded her vision of gardening and farming with her strong activist background to help shape the next chapter. “I had already been working with voting campaigns and anti-gentrification work in our communities. I was getting invited to a lot of meetings as often the only Black person at the table,” she said, noting that people were coming into her community to make decisions for them and that didn’t sit well with her. 

“Black growers were being left out of grants. They gave us gift cards for seedlings. I knew we had to change what was happening and who was controlling the narrative,” Bey recalled. In June 2015, the first meeting for Black Urban Gardeners and Farmers Co-op (BUGFPC) met in Homewood. 

“Once again, there were twelve of us. We were Black growers and community activists and we were ready to change the status quo.” BUGFPC is a grassroots organization that has brought together a collective group of Black gardeners and farmers to work together to solve challenges in Pittsburgh as urban growers.  

The focus became Homewood because it is a food apartheid area. “I say apartheid because we’ve had no grocery store here since the 1990s,” she said. Food apartheid is used in place of food desert because desert implies an abandoned neighborhood whereas apartheid redefines the issue as spaces deemed unworthy of having access to nutritious foods. 

“We’ve acquired the largest farm in Homewood measuring 31,000 square feet, the Homewood Historical Garden. We have an orchard, beehives, and more,” said Bey. The group grows a variety of fresh produce on the farm including culturally rooted staples like collards, kale and okra. Beyond farming, the organization is committed to justice, meeting with Pittsburgh officials to shape policies that reflect the values important to urban agriculturalists.  The group is proactive in their vision, planning a cooperative grocery store, as well. A Homewood farmers’ market, offered every Saturday through the end of October is an important step forward in the availability of health, fresh food in the neighborhood.

Beyond nourishing the body, BUGS is also nourishing the soul in new ways. On July 4, a special event on the Homewood farm will showcase medicinal herbs. “We will teach people what to do with them. Let’s empower each other to use what nature gave us to help fight depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)  naturally,” said Bey. Reiki and yoga will also be offered, as well a plant walk. “You may think they are just weeds in your backyard, but really they are food and herbs. We can show you what to use them for. Let’s break bread together,” she said.  

 

“We know we are well positioned in this moment to do something bigger,” said Celeste Taylor, on-site urban farm manager with more than 30 years of experience. Taylor, to whom Bey lovingly refers as Mama Celeste, is a Master Gardener and Bey’s mentor. “I believe in Queeba and the work she is doing. If I didn’t think her vision and drive was what it was I wouldn’t invest in her like I do,” said Taylor.   

The future looks fruitful for BUGFPC. “Over the years things have changed. We don’t just get gift cards anymore. After five long years, our children can see Black faces teaching--in particular--Black women,” said Bey, who credits her team for making this work possible. 

“We are growing our farm and expanding it even in the face of Covid-19. Yes, we have a voice, but we need our own table now,” said Bey, referring to her commitment to fostering independent institutions and effective action fueled by the people within the communities she serves.

 As she looks to the future of the organization, she knows it takes a village for the expansion of the gardens. “I love growing food, but I love growing minds and leaders even more.”

Join the movement! Every Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm through Oct. 31, visit the Farmers Market in Homewood at the House of Manna, 7240 Frankstown Rd, Pittsburgh PA 15208. Want to volunteer? Email blackfarmerscoop@gmail.com. All skill levels welcome! 

The Pittsburgh Foundation supports the Forging Forward series, which shines a light on innovative organizations bringing attention to the food ecosystem and strengthening the safety net in our region. You can help by giving on Aug. 19 at www.pittsburghgives.org.   Read here for more information on Pittsburgh Foundation’s Critical Needs program.

Other articles in the Forging Forward series:

Local Food Heroes

Critical Needs Campaign

Home is Where the Heart(land) Is

STORY BY NATALIE BENCIVENGA // PHOTOGRAPHY BY CELESTE Taylor

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