Jamaican Shellie-Ann Kerns Used Crowdfunding to Start A Black-Led Farm in Washington

Shellie-Ann Kerns is a Jamaican immigrant who started working on her crowdfunding journey to run a farm and restore her farming roots. Along with the Black-led farm, she also runs a bread school in Washington's Middle Satsop Valley.

She is naturally interested in farming because it comes from her mother's side and her father as well who has agricultural roots. She left Jamaica in 2013 to join her spouse in Washington State. Her heritage and life's story are filled with bits related to farming and the problem of food insecurity.

She also has a significant social media presence where she has documented her journey to success. These communication skills with the rest of the world have also helped Shellie raise funds from donations from her GoFundMe page. They helped her purchase a tractor and implements, build high tunnels, drill a new well, and also construct a commercial/demonstration kitchen for making spice blends; she also plans to use this space for teaching.

Her GoFundMe has currently raised $77,246; the donations are still growing to achieve the goal of $100,000. 

Among many other things, her farm grows seasonal vegetables and she has also kept chickens for eggs and manure. She has traded with her neighbors and has also donated surplus eggs to the Matlock Food Bank, the people there are very glad to receive locally produced food.

The donations are going to help her get the much-needed boost for buying a compact tractor and hiring knowledgeable help to clear the land for large-scale planting.

She was previously an aircraft dispatcher in February, a job that she quit after she saw empty grocery shelves and saw farmers throwing out food due to the disruption caused by the pandemic. This inspired Kerns to contribute to the food supply chain and provide people with the ability to get local food whenever they want.

Shellie took upon the responsibility to produce and sell fresh food to the people in her community through her sustainable farm, Bunkhouse Acres.

She is also working towards more progressive goals and hopes to soon find the ability to offer EBT, SNAP, and food stamp recipients with reduced production rates to provide food to people who need help.

Her farm aspires to feed people who are facing serious financial issues along with the other well-off people in Seattle too.

You can find details of her purpose and the story of her farming life. And more importantly, you can find multiple sources of donating to Shellie's cause on the website as well.