Andrea Bithell has got to be the friendliest rubber-cowboy-boots wearing farmer this Texas soil has seen in a long, long time. There’s dirt caked under her nails, her hair’s flying across her face, and one pant leg is rolled up while the other one isn’t. This is the look of a Paul Quinn farm manager who couldn’t give a cow dung how she looks when it comes to the two acres she’s in charge of. Instead, it’s the farm that matters.
I learned all this when I trekked over to Paul Quinn College last Thursday and discovered that the farm everyone’s been talking about is really an old football field converted into planting beds. In March 2010, ground broke, and the first crop of melons, peas, and okras sprung up that same summer. Now the Paul Quinn Farm employs about 12-14 work study students, sells its crops to places like Greenling, and is the gracious host of A Community Cooks for the second year in a row.
Jump for more Andrea.
There’s still a lot of work to get done before 100+ people show up at this event on April 19 where chefs like Tre Wilcox and Jeff Harris will be cooking among rows of strawberries. Andrea’s been working around the clock to get the farm ready, and tells me, “I want it to be as perfect as it possibly can.” Tomorrow from 9 AM til noon, Andrea’s opening up the farm to anyone who’d like to help out with the preparations. She’ll have you planting corn and tomatoes, weeding some beds, reorganizing concession stands, and moving mulch. If you have wheel barrows, then please bring them. Folks who are interested should just show up at Paul Quinn College’s security gate and tell them you’re a volunteer. Andrea will be so glad to have you!
Details:
Paul Quinn College Farm
3837 Simpson Stuart Road (Basically I-45 and Simpson Stuart Road)
9 AM – noon, April 14
If you have any questions, email Andrea at [email protected]
