Christa Barfield is a health-care professional turned farmer and lifelong Philadelphia resident. Ten years into her career in health-care administration, Christa realized her work-life balance was unhealthy; she resigned from her job just weeks before her thirtieth birthday to take back her life, health, and happiness. After embarking on a solo trip to Martinique in January 2018, Christa returned home inspired to connect with the land, plant life, and social issues that heavily impact Black and Brown communities and all people’s perception of food.
Christa considers her entrepreneurial endeavors a reincarnation of her former career in the healthcare industry, with her businesses focusing on regeneration and nutrition security. Since 2018, she has developed earth-born brands based on regenerative agricultural values with a goal of traceable and transparent origins of “100% Organically Dope” foods. Christa’s business venture, Viva Leaf Tea, offers a farm-to-cup approach with emphasis on high-quality, sustainable farming practices. FarmerJawn Agriculture, another of Barfield’s businesses, follows regenerative farming practices that concentrate on soil health and increasing access to organic food to marginalized communities. Christa now also operates a non-profit arm of FarmerJawn, with land totaling 128 acres and a mission to train and educate the nation’s next Black and Brown agripreneurs.
In addition to bringing awareness to the matters of food waste and food insecurity through her multi-business platform, Christa has also begun to expand her hemp farming knowledge and aims to destigmatize cannabis and impact regulation related to unfair incarceration surrounding the plant.
For more information on Christa Barfield and FarmerJawn, visit www.farmerjawnphilly.com.
