On September 18, 2026, Asawana Farms was honored to welcome participants from the Center for Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health (CEEjH) as part of an Environmental Justice Farm Tour organized by The Capital Market during the CEEjH Environmental Justice Symposium.
The visit brought together several issues that are deeply connected to the work we do every day at Asawana Farms: environmental justice, food access, culturally relevant agriculture, community health, and our Food as Medicine mission.
For us, farming is not only about producing vegetables. It is also about helping people understand where their food comes from, how food influences health, and how even a small amount of growing space can empower families and communities.
Food as Medicine in Action
During the tour, we introduced participants to some of the culturally important vegetables and herbs grown at Asawana Farms, including moringa, bitter melon, and bitter leaf.
These crops are familiar to many African, Caribbean, and Asian communities, but they remain relatively unfamiliar to many American consumers. Part of our mission is to help bridge that gap by introducing these foods to a wider audience while preserving the cultural knowledge and traditions associated with them.
And, of course, no visit to Asawana Farms is complete without tasting our signature crop — bitter leaf.
Visitors had the opportunity to experience its unmistakably bitter flavor while learning about its long history as both a food and a plant used in traditional wellness practices.
Bitter leaf, scientifically known as Vernonia amygdalina, contains naturally occurring plant compounds with antioxidant properties. Scientific research has also explored its potential relationship with glucose metabolism and blood-sugar regulation. While more human research is still needed and bitter leaf should never be considered a replacement for prescribed diabetes treatment, it provides an important opportunity to discuss the connection between culturally familiar foods, nutrition, and chronic disease prevention.
For communities disproportionately affected by conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, those conversations matter.
You Do Not Need a Farm to Grow Food
Another important part of the visit was introducing participants to our 5-gallon Grow-Bag Program.
At Asawana Farms, we often tell visitors:
You do not need acres of land to begin growing food.
You can start with one grow bag.
Plant something.
Learn how to care for it.
Watch it grow.
Harvest from it.
Then plant again.
The idea behind our grow-bag program is simple but powerful. Many people live in apartments, townhomes, senior housing, or urban neighborhoods where access to traditional garden space is limited. A 5-gallon grow bag can turn a patio, balcony, driveway, or small backyard into a productive growing space.
We encourage people to start with whatever they are comfortable growing — leafy greens, herbs, peppers, tomatoes, moringa, bitter leaf, or other vegetables.
The goal is not perfection.
The goal is to start growing.
When people learn how to grow even one crop successfully, something changes. They begin to understand the soil, the plant, the seasons, and the work that goes into producing food. More importantly, they gain confidence in their own ability to provide some of their food for themselves and their families.
That confidence can grow just as surely as the plants themselves.
Taking Food as Medicine Beyond the Farm
We were also proud to share with participants our ongoing partnership with University of Maryland Capital Region Health.
Through this collaboration, our Food as Medicine work is moving beyond the boundaries of Asawana Farms and into a healthcare environment.
As part of this partnership, bitter leaf and moringa are being grown in connection with the hospital’s community health efforts, creating opportunities to introduce patients, healthcare professionals, and community members to culturally relevant foods and the broader relationship between agriculture, nutrition, and health.
This partnership reflects an idea that has guided much of our work:
Healthcare does not begin only in the hospital. It can also begin in the soil.
Healthy communities need access to physicians and medical care, but they also need access to nutritious foods, practical health education, and the knowledge to make healthier choices every day.
Agriculture can play an important role in that equation.
Environmental Justice Is Also Food Justice
The visit was particularly meaningful because environmental justice and food justice are closely connected.
Environmental justice asks important questions about who has access to clean air, clean water, safe neighborhoods, healthy environments, and economic opportunity.
Food justice asks many of the same questions.
Who has access to fresh, nutritious food?
Who has access to land?
Who has opportunities to learn how food is grown?
Which communities have access to culturally familiar foods?
Who has the resources and knowledge to grow food for themselves?
These are not separate conversations.
For Asawana Farms, environmental justice also means ensuring that communities have the opportunity to participate in the food system — not only as consumers, but also as growers, learners, and producers.
That is why education is such an important part of our work.
When people visit Asawana Farms, we want them to leave with more than photographs and information.
We want them to leave thinking:
“I can grow something too.”
One Crop, One Grow Bag, One Family at a Time
We are grateful to CEEjH and The Capital Market for bringing participants to the farm and for creating space for conversations that connect environmental justice, agriculture, public health, food access, and community empowerment.
The visit reinforced something we believe strongly at Asawana Farms:
Food can do much more than satisfy hunger.
Food can educate.
Food can preserve culture.
Food can bring communities together.
Food can support healthier lives.
And when people learn how to grow food for themselves, that knowledge can continue from one generation to the next.
That is the vision behind our work.
One crop. One grow bag. One family. One community at a time.
At Asawana Farms, Food as Medicine is not just about what we grow. It is about what people learn, what they take home, and what they become empowered to grow for themselves.