Yonnette Fleming facts for kids

Yonnette Fleming (born 1968) is an American urban farmer. She is also a community helper who cares for the environment. She lives in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York. Fleming is part of the environmental movement. Her work focuses on community gardens and supporting Black farmers. She helps people get healthy food and learn about growing their own.

Early Life and Roots

Yonnette Fleming was born in Guyana, a country in South America. Her family worked with local communities there. They grew many crops like coconuts, sugar, and rice. In 1983, she moved to New York from Georgetown, Guyana.

Helping Communities Grow

Starting in the Garden

In 2003, Yonnette Fleming joined the Hattie Carthan Community Garden. This garden is in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn. At that time, she had a different job. By 2008, she decided to leave her job. She wanted to spend all her time helping her community. She focused on making sure people had enough food.

Creating a Farmer's Market

In 2009, Fleming worked hard to create something new. She started the Hattie Carthan Community Farmer’s Market. This market was built on an empty lot next to the main garden. It was a big step for the community.

Teaching About Food

In 2010, Fleming teamed up with Karen Washington. Together, they started Farm School NYC. This school teaches people how to create their own local food systems. It helps community members learn how to grow and share food.

Current Work and Impact

Today, Fleming is the vice president of the Hattie Carthan Community Garden. Her work helps with food security and food justice. Food security means everyone has enough healthy food. Food justice means everyone has fair access to healthy food.

She teaches many workshops for all ages. These workshops cover cooking, urban farming, and plant medicine. She helps people learn how plants can be used for health. In her classes, she encourages people to think about unfair challenges. She helps them find ways to make things better.

Fleming also serves on the advisory board for Farm School NYC. There, she teaches a course on food justice. Besides her food advocacy, she is also an ordained minister. She practices plant and sound medicine. She is also a reiki master and an herbalist. Fleming believes that working with the land helps people heal. She says it helps heal from difficult experiences, like unfairness due to race. Many of her students have gone on to start groups. These groups discuss how communities can control their own food. This is called food sovereignty.

See also

• Food Justice Movement