TOWN 'N' COUNTRY, Fla. — For three decades, Sweetwater Organic Community Farm has provided fresh produce to hundreds of Hillsborough County families every year. This week, the county is expected to finalize a deal to make sure the land is always used for community agriculture. 

What You Need To Know

  • Hillsborough County expects to finalize a deal this week to enact a perpetual conservation easement on the property of Sweetwater Organic Community Farm

  • The easement is meant to ensure the land is always used for not-for-profit community farming and environmental education

  • In exchange, the farm will receive $250,000 its director says will be used to pay off its mortgage 

  • For 30 years, Sweetwater has provided fresh, organic produce to hundreds of families annually

Hilary Zalla with Hillsborough County’s communications and digital media team said commissioners approved enacting a perpetual conservation easement on the farm’s property back in November in exchange for $250,000 in funding. The county expects to close on the deal on Jan. 25.

“The farm is kind of selling rights to the county, and that kind of ensures that this land is always going to be agricultural land forever,” said Chris Kenrick, Sweetwater’s director.

According to November’s agenda item, “completion of this acquisition ensures the Property’s continued agricultural use as a not-for-profit, community-supported, urban, organic, farm and environmental education center in perpetuity.”

Kenrick said there are a few reasons this is significant, including Florida’s growing population.

“Land is getting developed and bought and sold all over, but our goal is to keep food production as close as we can to where the people live and really protect the soil that’s most valuable,” he said.

He said another reason this plan is significant is America’s aging farmers. According to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s latest Census of Agriculture, the average age of farm producers is up from 56.3 years old in 2012 to 57.5 years old in 2017.

“We need more places for people to learn how to farm, learn how to grow more community gardens, and we need to make sure that spaces that we have for growing are kind of protected forever,” said Kenrick.

The deal also means Sweetwater will be debt-free. Kenrick said the county funds will be used to pay off its mortgage.

“Non-profits having debt, that sort of hinders the mission because then we’re not putting the revenue towards programming,” he said. “So, having the farm debt-free kind of relieves a lot of pressure for sure.”

Sweetwater was founded in 1995 and is run solely by volunteers. Kenrick said he and his family took over running it in 2019.

“I worked in farms as a kid, but I never went to school for farming. I never thought I’d be in farming, and it really started in St. Pete with the community garden movement and being involved in community gardens there and just really seeing the value of local food production,” he said.

Farm share memberships, Sunday farmer’s markets and donations are among the programs he said bring in revenue. 

“The learning takes precedence over production on this particular farm because we’re a non-profit education farm,” said Kenrick.

Rows of kale, lettuce, parsley and more were planted by third and fourth graders on field trips, according to Kenrick. He’s not the first person to run Sweetwater, and he said he won’t be the last. But Kenrick said it’s good to know whatever the future holds, this will still be a place where people can learn to love the land.

Tickets are still available for Sweetwater’s annual Planter’s Ball scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 27. Kenrick also said sponsorship opportunities are still available.