5Q: Tyler Young | Co-owner, Young Family Farm
(Editor’s note: This is a condensed version of a story that was originally published online Aug. 3.)
1. In almost 12 years, the Young Family Farm has donated the equivalent of more than 1.1 million meals to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Why do you prioritize such philanthropy so highly? Farmers don’t have a lot of money in the bank and so to give back, we work with food. You hear about the number of children in need of food in Rhode Island, 1 in 5 children having only one meal or less a day. … When a society features people who support one another, we all benefit.
2. What types of produce are most common in your donations to the food bank? Potatoes are the crop we harvest the most. Our farm, which began with a strawberry stand in 1997, now features 100 acres of potatoes. In addition to donating the culls, or seconds, we give a lot of turnips and winter squash. We start working with the food bank in September and they pick up six pallets of produce at a time.
3. Farming is an age-old profession, but how do you stay relevant with the advent of new technology and crop breeds? The profession is constantly evolving, whether it’s technology or people’s diets. My grandfather never ate kale a day in his life and now everyone wants it. And you look at the chemistries used by farmers now and they’ve become so much safer and so much more environmentally friendly. Toxicity levels aren’t there.
The technologies are unbelievable. A lot of the computers we use are on tractors, equipment and sprayers. They’re accurate; there’s no waste. … In addition, there has been a food movement, which has progressed to a more plant- and protein-based diet.
4. What is your advice to other farms or manufacturers who may have the ability to donate, as your family and farm do, but have not yet made the plunge? It’s OK to think creatively. Donations don’t need to be money. At Young Family Farm, we donate our seconds, excess or slightly flawed produce. It’s fresh, delicious and healthy produce we don’t want to see go to waste. Giving back is good citizenship and good business.
5. What is the highest hurdle for agriculture in the 21st century? There’s a lot of concern regarding too much regulation of agriculture. … It seems like you can’t laugh, sneeze or cry without doing something wrong.
I truly believe that this type of over-regulation … is going to make our food system more insecure. When you over-regulate a small-margin business, you chance putting them out of business.
Emily Gowdey-Backus is a staff writer for PBN. You can follow her on Twitter @FlashGowdey or contact her via email, Gowdey-backus@PBN.com.