Faith and Love ’ s Kitchen .
“ A lot of people have come through that garden whether through tour groups or volunteering . Over 10 years , I am sure we have fed over a thousand people ,” Wilkes said .
A native of the Zero community , Wilkes graduated from Meridian High School in 1980 . He headed to neighboring Tennessee , where he earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in textile design from Memphis College of Art in 1985 .
Afterwards , he fled the South to try his hand in the highly competitive world of fashion and apparel and landed in San Francisco .
“ I was one of the original designers for the Joe Boxer brand ,” Wilkes said . “ I did that for several years , and then I got into the apparel business .”
After 15 years in California , he moved to New York and continued to work in the apparel industry . From Sri Lanka to Hong Kong to Madagascar to France , he traveled around the world .
“ I was doing merchandising , product development , sourcing . I was traveling a lot globally , visiting factories in Asia , Africa , the Middle East , Europe ,” he said . “ I did a lot of global travel in the New York years .”
While he liked the travel , working in the apparel industry sometimes required a thicker skin .
“ The apparel industry is the hardest industry in the world to work for . It is a very , very tough business . It ’ s very competitive , it ’ s very cut throat . It ’ s very margin driven ,” Wilkes said . “ I worked on big businesses . I worked on $ 30 , $ 40 and $ 50 million budgets . It is very competitive and not always in a nice way .”
In an industry that prioritizes youthfulness , Wilkes began to rethink his future as the years passed . “ It is a very youth-based business ,” he said . “ They
Wilkes , left , talks with Pachuta farmers Bobby Kidd , center , and Randy Kidd at the June market . want the new . They want the young . That is the overall issue with the industry and that is ageism . You don ’ t see many people my age still working in it .”
So , after more than three decades away from home , Wilkes and his husband , Fabrizio Salazar , whom he had married in New York , moved back to Meridian to a house he had purchased 30 years ago and started new careers .
Salazar went back to school and earned his kinesiology degree from Mississippi State University . He now works for the State Department of Health in emergency planning . For the past eight years , Wilkes has worked in the Community Development Department .
“ We decided we were going to reboot our future through Meridian ,” Wilkes said . “ He wanted to go back to school and I wanted to get out of the city and spend more time with my parents because I was gone for so long .”
His dad , Ollie Wilkes , retired last year from Hotel & Restaurant Supply after decades in the business . His mother , Martha Wilkes , is retired from the insurance business .
Wilkes has been able to involve his family in his Love and Peas initiative through financial donations and physical labor .
What he especially loves about Earth ’ s Bounty and Love and Peas is that they both bring together diverse people from all walks of life for a common goal , which helps to make it successful .
“ Diversity has really been one of our pushes , especially with the community garden and Earth ’ s Bounty . All ages , all colors , all backgrounds , all ethnicities ,” he said . “ I am a big believer in diversity . I don ’ t like these segregated little clumps we tend to put ourselves in , so I think coming together as a community , you come to know people , you become friends with people , you are not scared of people .” M
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