Bonton Farms is an entrepreneurial and agricultural intervention to restore lives, create jobs and ignite hope in the most forgotten and neglected neighborhoods for the most marginalized and vulnerable people. And that is exactly what I did. Just two short years ago, the south Dallas lot where Bonton Farms sits today was abandoned – overflowing with trash and overgrown trees. The catalyst has been Daron Babcock, a former business executive who found his faith and then a calling in the little post-World War I housing community known as Bonton. Bonton residents Daron Babcock (first image), and Patrick Wright (second image) are part of a team dedicated to providing healthy, affordable food for the Bonton neighborhood through the creation of Bonton Farm-Works. The urban farm transformed the area, providing living-wage jobs and affordable, healthy food. On Thursday, Bonton Farms Director Daron Babcock will be the featured speaker for [email protected]’s summer series.. Bonton Farms is situated in the South Dallas neighborhood known as Bonton, where 63 percent of its residents lack personal transportation and the nearest grocery store is a three-hour round-trip bus ride away, according to its website. The community of Bonton stands as a testament to the fact that all people can flourish when provided with the right environment and the necessary resources to tap into their gifts and talents. A few months back, I went with a friend to Bonton Farms, which is located in the community of Bonton in south Dallas. While I have your attention: Daron Babcock. The Dallas Morning News reports that for Daron Babcock, executive director of Bonton Farms, this moment has been a long time coming. This farm is life changing for the Bonton community as it is creating jobs, supplying healthy food, and offering hope to its residents. Daron Babcock, Executive Director of Bonton Farms, and Donna Collins, Founder of The Jelly Queens, began imagining a facility for preserving food grown on the farm. Message frequency is recurring and varies. ... vice president of Bonton Farms. "The idea of this land that was abandoned, that nobody saw value in - and now, it's producing life and food. When texting this station, message & data rates apply. Daron Babcock. When we were in our 30s, my wife was diagnosed with cancer, and two years later she passed away. The Episcopal School of Dallas. At first, it was no more than a tiny vegetable patch on a vacant lot beside Daron Babcock’s Habitat for Humanity house, a small plot of green in a dangerous, run-down, historically disadvantaged South Dallas neighborhood full of society’s most marginalized people. Phone: Traffic Tip Line: 214-219-1080 . I met a beautiful young lady in college. Bonton Farms executive director Daron Babcock said he has had a hard time keeping up with emails lately. Daron Babcock - Bonton Farms. His focus is on rebuilding the institutions—faith, family, community—that make for strong, healthy homes and resilient residents. In Bonton, this was made possible through urban farming. Courtney Collins / KERA Bonton Farms in South Dallas is evolving to serve its community, by serving meals. More About Us. “Today, Bonton Farms serves men and women coming out of incarceration, homelessness, domestic violence and addiction,” says Babcock. South Dallas is also a “Food Desert”, … We are still taking orders at The Market. I have always loved hearing other people’s stories. Bonton Farms is an oasis in the midst of South Dallas where poverty, crime, and unemployment rates are high. FOLLOW US. Executive Director of Bonton Farms. Before Bonton Farms, Bonton was a food desert. And, the carrots are just as amazing! At Bonton Farms, according to the CPB, Babcock … The name “Bonton Farms” is derivative of its location: a neighborhood nicknamed “bomb-town” because of the extreme racial terrorism it experienced in the mid 20th century. On a recent visit to the farm, it was bursting with life – farmers harvesting heirloom tomatoes, neighborhood kids helping out and baby … Daron Babcock plants herbs and vegetables around the perimeter of the patio. Bonton Farms is the creation of Daron Babcock. Daron Babcock is the founder and director of Bonton Farms, an urban farm that works to grow lives as it grows vegetables. CEO Spotlight. Up to this point in Daron’s life, he was a white collar worker with a lucrative job in the business world. Babcock and his wife, Theda, started Bonton Farms in 2014 to bring healthy food staples to South Dallas. I was lost. Daron Babcock Founder of Bonton Farms. No purchase necessary. Working on no sleep from the night before, Daron Babcock from Bonton Farms came and spoke to the Club last Friday morning abouth the great work he is doing down in south Dallas. As a reminder, Bonton Farms is an urban farm that services the South Dallas community where 85% of men have been to prison, poverty is rampant and jobs are scarce. The idea was seeded nearly two years ago. Daron Babcock is the executive director of the remarkable urban garden built in and for this community along the Trinity River. Daron Babcock is on Facebook. I was born and raised in the panhandle of Texas. Reply STOP to cancel. Daron was… When Bonton Farms founder Daron Babcock moved to Bonton in 2012, beets—or any fresh, non-frozen, non-canned vegetables for that matter—were nearly impossible to find nearby. Daron Babcock - Bonton Farms . The strength of its residents and the uniting power of food helps the Bonton Farms community survive, if not thrive, even during Covid 19. It's a metaphor for what's happening the community." Still Shaping: DFW - Daron Babcock of Bonton Farms. Bonton Farms’ Sweat Equity Chipping Away At South Dallas Food Desert By Robbie Owens May 17, 2016 at 6:36 pm Filed Under: Bonton Farms , Daron Babcock … Friday, December 27th. Bonton Farms Founder Daron Babcock Delivers Inspirational Lecture at ESD. Daron Babcock is the executive director of the remarkable urban garden built in and for this community along the Trinity River. In 2014, Bonton Farms owner Daron Babcock started the urban farm to bring healthy food and jobs to South Dallas. July 18, 2016. Five years ago, Babcock was a corporate manager, living with his two sons in a four-bedroom house in Frisco. Bonton is a food desert, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture defines as an area without a full-service grocery store within a 1-mile radius. Bonton is a community marred by years of chronic disinvestment and rampant poverty .Bonton Farms is committed to the restoration of Bonton by restoring lives, creating jobs and igniting hope. The farm's success allowed it to expand to add a … We got married and had two boys. Download. “Let’s start small and see where it takes us.” Jobs were scarce for folks with a record, he says, and South Dallas was a food desert. Bonton Farms started small. Thanks to Daron Babcock, this neighborhood is now home to multiple urban gardens and a thriving community market. Bonton Farms founder Daron Babcock with Malachi and milking goats. Donations and words of encouragement have filled … Earlier this year, when grocery stores shelves were sparse and restaurants were struggling to convert to take-out-only, Bonton Farms , a farm, market, and café in South Dallas, jumped into action to feed its neighbors and other Dallasites. Quincy Bradley, Daron Babcock, and “Q the Younger” at Bonton Farms’ Extension this summer. Daron Babcock of Bonton Farms CBS News Daron Babcock started the small urban farm and 40-acre extension to solve a health crisis in the region. Bonton Farms was built to help feed people in the Bonton food desert where access to healthy foods was non-existent. Bonton Village, the new homeless-to-work proposal from the folks who created Bonton Farms, has cleared new hurdles in its quest to build a functioning farm and community destination in the heart of Lake Highlands.The City of Dallas approved extending Bonton’s option to acquire the 12.8 acres at 12000 Greenville between Forest Lane and LBJ. Daron has led Bonton Farms in launching: A honey company, a car company and transportation initiative, a lawn care service, a market and restaurant, a private Christian school, a 40+ acre farm, a housing initiative, and much more to create 30+ jobs so far. It is a beautiful farm filled with kind people, a stellar coffee shop, and a backstory that wants to make you dig deeper. Daron Babcock founded Bonton Farms in 2012 to aid inner city men determined to work rather than return to prison. Once I left, I knew I wanted to go back and learn more. Daron Babcock, founder of Bonton Farms, told our group on tour that he was invited to be a part of the group. The featured speaker for this year’s event will be Daron Babcock, “The Rogue Shepherd” and founder of Bonton Farms in South Dallas. Despite decades of struggle in Bonton, we believe that our community can change from within, driven by our own people, using our own hands. The name “Bonton Farms” is derivative of its location: a neighborhood nicknamed “bomb-town” because of the extreme racial terrorism it experienced in the mid 20th century. I stopped keeping in touch with my friends and family. Join Facebook to connect with Daron Babcock and others you may know. 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