The Stuff Communities Are Made Of

By Sarah Steely

"Crop mobs," the agrarian equivalent of en masse musical numbers performed spontaneously in public places are the green movement's latest cover girl. Started by a crew of North Carolinians in 2008, crop mobs conglomerate hopeful farmers, curious youth, and charitable community members on a farm in need on some labor. Often, the crop mob handles jobs too burdensome for the farm's small team of interns to manage efficiently on its own, like clearing rocks or mulching beds. While filling a void in the farm's labor capacity, the crop mob also unites like-minded souls for a day of bonding, bridges the gap between community and food provider, inspires and educates a new generation of agriculturalists, and completes tedious work in a fraction of the time. The trend has caught on; in addition to national coverage in publications like the New York Times, over 50 similar groups have popped up across the United States, including one right here in Charlottesville.

On a blustery April Saturday, UVa students and Cville community members of varying ages danced their way to The Local Food Hub's educational Scottville farm, Maple Hill. Announced via Facebook by second-year student Rowan Sprague, the three-hour work day quickly caught the city's attention.

The instructions: bring water, work gloves, a picnic lunch, and clothes that can get dirty. The task: plant 600 pounds of potatoes and construct high towers for early pepper plants.

Charlottesville's first-ever crop mob was a huge success. The crew of nearly twenty, braving the wind, completed the tasks is less time than expected. Toddlers and fellow farmers alike enjoyed a post-labor picnic lunch and farm tour. The Food Hub's intern expressed her utmost thanks for the help, and Emily Manley, the Food Hub's outreach coordinator, collected the emails of those interested in becoming part of an on-call crop mob email listserve. Hypothetically, a farmer in need can sound the alarm (picture a Batman-esque skylight in the shape of a carrot) and the crop mob will respond. This ethos in mind, a second mob -this one featuring a potluck -took place on April 15th at Bellair Farm in Charlottesville.

The curious thing about a crop mob is its perceived glamour. With sustainable farming now in vogue, people are clamoring for the opportunity to participate in the most tedious of tasks, all in the spirit of community support and an agricultural revolution. It goes without saying that sustainable agriculture is more labor-intensive than industrial ag, and crop mobs provide the free labor to bridge that difference. But a crop mob is far more than several dozen pairs of extra hands: it is a return to the connection we were supposed to feel to our farms. From a food justice perspective, a mob mentality is one that allows sustainable farmers to persist in practicing methods that are better for our health and better for the earth, without the added cost for extra staff. Crop mobs capitalize on the nation's present obsession with all things green while reconnecting consumers with producers in the dirtiest (literally) way possible: breaking ground, hauling dirt, and planting crops. I don't know if mob-ees see their service as food justice, but they are unquestionable living as we all should strive to -regardless of age or socioeconomic status, we need to remember where and from whom our food comes. A crop mob that literally puts the dirt under one's fingernails is not only a true service, it is hand-on fun. As the original crop mob suggests, citizens bond to each other, their food, their farmers, and their land when commiserating over a common task. Crop mobs are what they call "the stuff communities are made of."

Check out this great example of a flash mob: