By Kristi Harper
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BALTIMORE, Maryland (WMAR) — Tucked inside Farring-Baybrook Park between Curtis Bay and Brooklyn Homes, the Farm Alliance of Baltimore is showing city residents that farming is not just for rural communities.
The organization operates the Black Butterfly Teaching Farm, a space that serves as a working farm, educational center, and business incubator for aspiring urban farmers. Along with producing fresh vegetables and honey, the farm helps people learn how to grow their own food and build agricultural businesses in the city.
One of those entrepreneurs is Shanice Daniels, founder of Feel Good Florals. @theeverydaybloomer
Daniels did not grow up on a farm, but she was surrounded by plants. Her mother kept houseplants, and visits to her father’s family in Jamaica showed her how much food could be grown at home.
“My dad’s side of the family is from a part of Jamaica where they grow a lot of the food that they eat,” Daniels said. “And I remember being in awe of how much produce was just around on their property.”
Back in Baltimore, Daniels built a career as a social worker, helping people through difficult circumstances. Over time, she said, the work led to burnout.
“I found myself experiencing a lot of burnout, just as a social worker in the Baltimore City area,” Daniels said. “There’s a lot of need.”
A colleague gave her a houseplant, and the experience changed her perspective.
“I was able to see how I could actually mimic that care for that houseplant onto myself,” she said.
That realization grew into a new passion. Daniels and her husband began planting vegetables and flowers, eventually connecting with the Farm Alliance of Baltimore. What started as a small garden evolved into Feel Good Florals, a business focused on the connection between flowers and healing.
“Feel Good Florals is a business that was born after I realized that flowers can also lead to healing,” Daniels said.
Today, she teaches clients how caring for plants can support mental wellness and personal growth.
“The practice of growing flowers has taught me how to prioritize learning how to pivot instead of panic,” she said.
The Farm Alliance provided the resources and support needed to help Daniels develop her business. Executive Director Denzel Mitchell Jr. said creating opportunities like that is a major part of the organization’s mission.
“An incubator space gives a burgeoning farmer a place to grow their business, operate their business with a lot of support,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell founded the organization after wanting to teach his own children where food comes from and how to grow it themselves.
“I started growing to introduce them to local seasonal food but then also to teach them gardening and preservation and homesteading,” he said. “And that original idea grew.”
As interest in local food expanded, partnerships with Baltimore City helped the Farm Alliance secure a 15-year lease on nine acres in South Baltimore’s Farring-Baybrook Park, where it operates the Black Butterfly Teaching Farm.
The farm produces nearly 50,000 pounds of food annually on just over two acres of cultivated land. Much of that produce is distributed to restaurants and nonprofit organizations throughout Baltimore. Beginning in the spring, visitors will also be able to purchase fresh produce directly from a farm stand on site.
For Daniels, the experience transformed her understanding of what is possible in an urban environment.
“Prior to moving to Baltimore City, I thought that farms and just growing happened in more rural areas,” Daniels said. “And actually, as part of the Black Butterfly Urban Farmer Academy, it opened my eyes to what was possible.”
The farm’s success demonstrates that even in a densely populated city, a small plot of land can grow food, support local businesses, and help cultivate new opportunities for residents.
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