On two acres of farmland in Cranston, Teo and Margarita’s forests of kale and collard greens thrive alongside patches of sweet and hot peppers, bees swirl around their nearby hives, and tomatoes flourish in the greenhouse.
Tomatoes are Teo’s favorite crop! Check out this video he made with our Farm to School & Community Education team for use in classrooms and school cafeterias!
Not only do Teo and Margarita steward an immense variety of crops, they also have been deeply generous whenever Hope’s Harvest visits their farm to glean — always insisting our team take home a small portion of the harvest, or even try some of their honeycomb — a rewarding treat on a hot summer day.
Teo Martinez has been farming for nearly his whole life, about 45 years now. Since 2018 he and his wife, Margarita, have grown food at Urban Edge Farm in Cranston. Urban Edge, managed by Southside Community Land Trust, is actually an amalgamation of a dozen small farms. There, the farmers share the land as well as knowledge, equipment, and resources.
Since 2020, Hope’s Harvest has partnered with Teo and Margarita, who in turn have cultivated over 20,000 pounds of produce that have been distributed to hunger relief agencies throughout Rhode Island such as the Olneyville Food Center, the West End Community Center, and Hasbro Children’s Hospital. Despite the challenges of this summer’s drought, Teo and Margarita grew over 10,000 pounds of delicious food for Hope’s Harvest including greens, carrots, onions, okra, beans, beets, and squash. Hope’s Harvest contracts with Teo and Margarita to purchase their food as part of our efforts to ensure that the Rhode Island food system works for everyone involved, including the growers. Additionally, so far this year Hope’s Harvest has purchased 400 pounds (over $2,000 dollars’ worth) of fresh fruits and veggies from Teo and Margarita for the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, which provides low-income seniors with access to locally sourced fruits, vegetables, honey and herbs. Margarita says she appreciates partnering with Hope’s Harvest “because I feel that I sell more of my products.”
Teo and Margarita’s favorite thing about their local community is the support they receive from them. Anyone who wants to show their appreciation can visit them through the end of October at local farmers markets, including Farm Fresh RI’s Broad Street (Saturdays 8-12) and Neutaconkanut Park farmers markets (Mondays 2-6), and the Sankofa World Market (Wednesdays 2-6).
