purchase healthy produce and enjoy the sense of community there.
The Urban Farm Link to the Ag Reserve
Volunteers proudly show the fruits of their labor at weekly farm markets.( Inset) Emily Sells manages the Koiner farm at Loiderman Middle School.
Spring, the Loiderman site also grow the vegetables themselves. hosts a weekly farm market to sell The Koiner Conservancy leadership is hopeful that the success its produce. Any excess food goes to county food share programs of the Loiderman Middle School such as Manna Food or Community FarmShare. school sites.
farm will lead the way to other
The rapid success of the Loiderman project is due to the lead- these small-scale farms, both the
In a less expected benefit of
ership and energy of Head Farm urban location and the Loiderman Manager Emily Sells, whose vision and determination created silience hubs” for the County. This
site are part of a network of“ re-
a working farm in record time on means that in times of natural disaster, their infrastructure( e. g. so- an unused grassy slope next to the school tennis courts. For all lar panels for electricity and refrigeration) can support community its food production success, Emily says the best part of the farm is needs for phone charging or cold working with the students.“ They food storage. just want to be involved in something where they can see real suc- shared growing spaces as support
To extend the concept of
cess, and where they are trusted.” for communities in need even further, the Koiner Conservancy has
She enjoys seeing them learn through trial and error.“ I love to an agreement with MoCo’ s Housing Opportunities Commission at see the students problem-solve. I’ ll give them a task like laying irrigation or building a tool rack, offer a of homelessness. Koiner staff and
facilities that house seniors at risk little guidance, then let them figure it out.” She has seen them gain rain barrels for irrigation, pro-
volunteers install raised beds with confidence and pride as they develop hands-on skills. And then of“ Plant Doctor” sessions severvide seedlings to plant, and hold
course, there is the food. A teen al times a year. This program also who may not love the idea of okra, provides residents of the facilities eggplant, or turnips may be more with vouchers and transportation willing to try them if they helped to Koiner’ s weekly farm markets to
Figuring out the puzzle of local food production— struggling to ensure resiliency for a food system that is buffeted by countless pressures, for a county of more than a million people— is a challenge for land use policymakers and farmers. The future of farming in Montgomery County, within the Ag Reserve as well as urban and suburban areas, depends on nurturing young farmers, and at the same time educating consumers about how their food is grown. Charlie Koiner’ s dream solidified in the Koiner Conservancy seems to offer an important piece of the puzzle. The Koiner Conservancy demonstrates the potential of growing food on densely planted land wherever it is available, as it produces the next generation of farmers to do the essential work. In the words of Kate Medina,“… maybe Koiner’ s education programs can be the launchpad for the next Ag Reserve farmer.”
In the meantime, for the diverse people Koiner serves, the sense of connection and belonging feeds the soul and the spirit, going far beyond the basic function of growing food.
Melane Kinney Hoffmann has lived on a 50-acre farm, with 40 acres in hay, in the Ag Reserve for more than 30 years. Melane serves on the Upcounty Citizens Advisory Board, and has been involved in various efforts to preserve rural land in the Ag Reserve.
12 plenty I autumn harvest 2026