A Farmer’s Tale: Urban farming is alive at California Street Farms
At an early age, living in a rural area, Elyssa Eull began gardening with her family. As someone who’s long been fascinated with food, finding her way to urban farming may now feel almost preordained. When she was an undergrad, she studied agriculture and food sourcing. The mix of her family’s generations-deep spirit of entrepreneurship and desire to be outdoors, coupled with that love of food, led her to farming. After five years of seasonal farming jobs and a stint out East in farming school (on a horse-powered vegetable farm), Minneapolis was calling.
All the years away on the small farms she worked on created a feeling of isolation for Elyssa. Her decision to move back to Northeast Minneapolis was, in many ways, centered around building a community again and being amongst people. Through taking an online farming course the winter she moved back, she met the (then) owners of California Street Farms, who had been looking for someone to take over.
Serendipity struck, and the previous owners, Ashley Thorfinnson and Chris Barth, transferred the land lease to Elyssa. She had recently moved within blocks of the farm, and the deal was too good to pass up. Elyssa was now an urban farmer.
As you may already know, tragedy struck the farm this spring by way of a fire at Elyssa’s home, where she had been growing her seedlings in the basement. When she got the call on May 1st from her landlady, she dropped everything and headed home to assess the damage. What followed in the weeks after the fire has been a community-inspired miracle. Her friends and family instantly rallied in support and jumped in wherever they could to lend a hand, both in her personal life and on the farm. A pivotal piece of assistance came from her friend Josie, who contacted local farmers seeking “extra” plants to save the farm. The generosity of these farmers was instrumental in getting California Street Farms back on track for the season.
This year has also been pivotal in other ways. The life of a farmer, urban or otherwise, is one of endless work and “to-dos”. This hectic workload and schedule can leave even the most seasoned farmers burnt out and exhausted. But with solid sales, help has been needed. Elyssa shared that she was initially nervous about becoming an employer, specifically a good one. But with the addition of Maddie and her sister Cory, she’s focusing on finding balance in her life again. What’s more, her helpers also bring new ideas and skills to the business.
Less than a mile and a half from Eastside, right here in NE, urban farming is alive and well. Placed in the good hands of Elyssa Eull, California Street Farms is nourishing our neighborhoods with foods that support good health and the community more broadly. As we wrapped up our time together, we asked for some parting words for our readers. Elyssa says, “This is how this farm is a feasible business. I depend on customers who have decided that it’s important that what they eat is local. They care about the fact that their food is sourced well. They care about the environment. They’re making conscious choices about who and what to support. And the money that comes into this farm just goes right back into this community. It’s all mutually beneficial.” Well said, Elyssa.