It Takes a Village

“It’s a giant step backward.” 

Kat McElroy, Farmer from Nenana, Alaska 

Photo by akphotograph.com 

David Poppe and Kat McElroy grow produce and raise cattle, geese, chickens, turkeys, and pigs. Sound like typical farmers, right? Not really. For one thing, Mr. Poppe and Ms. McElroy live in Alaska—a state known more for snowstorms than for summer harvests. But more remarkable is the fact that they live inside Nenana, Alaska (population 341)—not on the outskirts of town like some farmers, or out in the middle of nowhere like a lot of farmers, but smack in the middle of town. Okay, so Nenana is tiny, even by small town standards, but still, how do they do it? With a little help from their friends. Mr. Poppe and Ms. McElroy grow the vegetables on their place, farm out their livestock to seven city lots, and harvest hay from outlying properties, including the community airport. In this town, it truly does take a village to raise a farm.

Read the article → Nenana’s urban farm grows with a little hay from friends