Our very own head farmers, Anne Elder and Paul Bantle, will receive the People’s Food Co-Op of Ann Arbor “Ken King Life as Art” award for 2014. This award was established in 2009 in memory of Ken King, the patriarch of Frog Holler Farm’s King family, talented songwriter and musician, and one of the pioneers of the organic farming movement in the area. The award honors “an individual or organization in the People’s Food Co-op community who has shown fearless and creative dedication and hard work living their ideals specifically in the realms of social justice, politics, spirituality, art or just plain conscious living.” (www.peoplesfood.coop)
As all who know them will agree, Anne and Paul have been an inspiration to everyone they’ve come in contact with. They’ve committed their entire lives to caring for the Earth and people. Anne and Paul’s loving spirits have touched so many over the years, from the Wildflower Bakery and The Del Rio, to the Community Farm of Ann Arbor and the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market and beyond. They also lead meditation groups and retreats drawing upon Easwaran’s passage meditation based on the Bhagavad Gita. This daily practice encourages looking inward as the path to outward compassion. As leaders of the “communiteam” at the Community Farm of Ann Arbor for the past 23 years, they’ve provided the healthiest food and nurturing community, while caring for the Earth they feel so blessed to inhabit. They are real life heroes of the CSA movement in its purest form, living a life of hard work, meditation, and service to the community. Congratulations Anne and Paul, you deserve this wonderful recognition!
