Annie Wyche
By Angela Previdelli, Masters Candidate 2013, Cornell University Department of City and Regional Planning
Annie Wyche grew up in rural Alabama. She has lived in New York for 43 years and currently resides in Brooklyn with her family. Annie honed her gardening skills on her family’s farm by being the 7th child to be born into a family of 12 children. She grew up at her mother’s side in the garden. As it was rare for the family to purchase pre-made foods at the store, her mother taught all of the children the craft of making food from scratch, bringing the garden to the kitchen table. Her familial upbringing imparted in Annie a deep appreciation for the process of growing one’s own food and a commitment to consume healthy, high quality produce.
Knowing that her mother was an avid gardener at home, one of her daughters, having been given a flyer for East New York Farms on the subway, suggested that her mother join. It was her frustrations with finding good quality produce that finally inspired Annie to become a dedicated member of the Hand and Heart Farm. Fresh vegetables, Annie explains, are difficult to find in her neighborhood. When shopping at her local supermarket, Annie often found the vegetables in poor condition, stating they were more suited to “feed the cows” than her family. Fed up with the struggle to find good food, Annie joined the East New York Farms family. She gardens not only for herself and her family, but also for friends and neighbors whom she regularly gifts with produce from her harvest.
Annie is excited about growing vegetable varieties that she is completely unfamiliar with. Often growing crops that she has never actually tasted before. Most of the seeds she plants, she explains, are actually from Alabama. Annie found it difficult to encounter quality seeds in her neighborhood stores, and so she waits until her trips home to Alabama to bring back seeds to plant in New York.
Additionally, Annie sold much of her produce at the Hand and Heart Farm’s weekly farmer’s market. Last year alone she produced at least 50 pounds of cucumbers of different varieties. By consuming her own produce and freezing some of the surplus to consume during the winter months, Annie has been able to significantly reduce her monthly food expenditures.
Passing on the tradition, her daughters have also become active members at the farm. With their mother having arthritis, her two girls often come to the garden to help Annie with her gardening tasks. She is also instilling the importance of fresh, healthy foods to her two grandchildren. Annie now holds the position of Treasurer at the farm. Alongside her daughters, Annie helps keep the farm running and also assists in planning various community events for the gardeners and neighbors of the Hand and Heart Farm. With the help of her family, and a few local kids who she pays to help her with some of the manual labor, Annie hopes to keep gardening for many years to come.