LISTEN TO OBERRON DEFREITAS
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Oberron DeFreitas at the Ward 8 Farmers' Market
Oberron DeFreitas was determined to bring his organic produce into the food desert that is southeast, D.C. “The only place I wanted to bring my goods was southeast,” said DeFreitas, who lived and taught in the area for more than a quarter century. For the last seven years, DeFreitas has sold his produce to residents of southeast as part of the Ward 8 Farmers Market.
In addition to selling his produce to individuals each Saturday in the parking lot of the United Medical Center, DeFreitas is part of a buyback program which guarantees him $250 a week in sales. The produce from the buyback program is distributed to feeding programs, as well as to corner stores in southeast. This novel initiative allows residents of southeast to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the entire week, not just on Saturdays.
Inspired by the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X, DeFreitas saved up for years in order to purchase land and become a farmer. DeFreitas said, “When I was growing up back in the ’50s, I heard of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and [his] asking the United States to give black folks five states because we needed a landbase. We were taken out of Africa, taken from our land, and he was asking for five states at that time. Well that never happened. Then Malcolm X, in his speeches, I heard him also remind us that we’re a landless people and we have to get land. And so that I idea stuck in my head and I was finally able to go ahead and purchase a farm back in 1987.”
The teacher-turned-farmer sees a connection between farming and education. DeFreitas said, “If children are not properly fed nutritious items, the brain don’t function as it should. Food is connected to college. We teachers, we can encourage all we want… but if a child is not fed properly, the body doesn’t grow properly. And brain capacity is directly related to nutritious foods. I see that farming is connected to teaching.”