When you’re picking up produce from a local farmers market, do you ever stop and think about what it took to grow it?

What You Need To Know

  • Mayda Pozantides, the Groundwork Market Garden owner, is self-taught
  • She spends her days planting, weeding, and harvesting
  • Pozantides was integral in helping to create a customer insurance document called the Greater Buffalo Urban Growers Pledge
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In Buffalo, Mayda Pozantides, a self-taught female farmer, works up to 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

“I wake up every morning and work hard, because I feel like what I’m doing is important for my community and the planet,” says  Pozantides, Groundwork Market Garden owner.

Pozantides spends her days planting, weeding, and harvesting. Despite all of the work, becoming a farmer is something that Pozantides has never regretted.

“My interest with farming really started with books I was reading and I decided to work as an apprentice on a farm outside of Albany,” adds Pozantides.

From there, she became head farmer at Groundwork and this year, was integral in helping to create a customer insurance document called the Greater Buffalo Urban Growers Pledge. Through this, farmers, experts from Cornell Cooperative Extension, and Buffalo and Erie Food Policy Council have worked together to outline steps to ensure that their soil, workers, and consumers stay safe.

“It’s rewarding to hear what other people are using our produce for, how they’re cooking it, how they’re enjoying it, and seeing the space transformed into something beautiful,” explains Pozantides.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Greater Buffalo Urban Growers Pledge, visit their website.