This Black History Month, Bon Appétit Management Company is shedding light on an unjust past for Black food producers while uplifting our Farm to Fork partners with businesses led by Black farmers, educators, and land stewards.
For Bruce Adams, becoming a farmer was a no-brainer. As a fourth-generation farmer in western South Carolina, Bruce has a special relationship with the land that his family has tended for many years, as well as a longtime connection with Bon Appétit as the farm manager for two of our Farm to Fork partners at Furman University in Greenville, SC. As the manager of both Green Valley Farms and the Furman Farm, Bruce works to empower the next generation of growers pulling from his own decades of farming experience.
As young as five years old, Bruce can remember picking up potatoes and helping his family around the farm. He explains, “Farming is a part of my heritage. It’s who we are, it’s what we do.” Following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather, and great grandfather, he continues to farm where it all began near Greenville in South Carolina. As a former sharecropper, his grandfather purchased his family’s land “on a handshake” and paid it off by farming the land.
Fast forward to today, and Bruce leads the helm at two small-scale farms guided by sustainable practices, both of which are long-time Farm to Fork partners. At the Furman Farm, Bruce simultaneously grows food for the Furman University campus (purchased and served by our Bon Appétit chefs), while also training students in sustainable agriculture. He describes the farm as a closed-loop system, as their farm team manages a compost pile that turns waste from the dining hall into a natural fertilizer for their fields and saves seeds for future harvests. Just down the road at Green Valley Farms, he not only grows fresh produce but also raises cows, pigs, and goats that are utilized by our Bon Appétit chefs in an array of menus across campus.
As Bruce reflects on how farming – and the world – has changed during his lifetime, he’s noticed a shift away from people growing their own food. When he was growing up, he notes “Three of every four households had a garden in the backyard to grow tomatoes, squash, what have you. It was the thing to do!” Now, the notion that growing food is seen as less important has created a major disconnect within our food system, which Bruce sees as a tragic loss of traditional knowledge. This is where he steps into the picture, as a mentor and educator for the next generation, helping to forge a connection with the land and build the potential for small-scale agriculture. As a product of his ancestors, Bruce farms to honor the past and prepare for the future.