Planting a healthier future

From a half-acre farm in Florissant, Missouri, Tyrean “Heru” Lewis works to combat food insecurity in the community he grew up in- St. Louis.

Lewis is one of many Black St. Louisians working to bring nutrition into the community- he works with a network of markets, vendors and volunteers to make it happen.  

The city experienced 270 homicides on the last year, 70% of which occurred in low-income census tracts without access to a grocery store within a half-mile. 

Research, including that from the St. Louis Dept. of Health shows that food insecurity is tied to rates of physical and mental health issues, which, in turn can lead to higher rates of violence in these communities. 

To Lewis, these areas are “Food Apartheids,” rather than the often-used term - food deserts. “I say ‘apartheid’ because a desert is natural,” says Lewis. “This was created on purpose.” 

Tyrean “Heru” Lewis, center, CEO and Founder of Heru Urban Farms, hops between rows of plants while working on his farm in Florissant, Missouri on June 1, 2021. The half-acre farm provides over 40 different types of fruits and vegetables, mostly sold in Community Supported Agriculture boxes and farmers markets, but also donated to local organizations. Last year, Lewis produced 200,000 pounds of produce.

Lewis’ daughter, Jada, snacks on an apple while helping her dad at the farm in Florissant on Monday, May 31, 2021. “I’ve seen the difference in kids when they get a meal and when they don’t get a meal, how they behave and how they focus in school,” said Lewis, former P.E. teacher.

A closed Shop ’N Save grocery store in North St. Louis remains vacant on Tuesday, June 1, 2021 after its closure in 2018. Many Shop ’N Saves were sold to Schnuck’s Markets, but those that were not remain vacant. These vacant stores were often the only grocery store for several miles.

The Hyde Park Market in St. Louis, Missouri on Saturday, May 29, 2021, where Lewis has begun selling his produce. The market is new this year, and expects to grow through the season as more vendors get involved. Market founder, Fatimah Muhammad, bought property in the Hyde Park neighborhood with the specific intention of bringing access to fresh food into the area, “Is it just for Hyde Park residents,” asks Muhammad, “No, but we needed to start where the need was greatest,” she answers herself.

Lewis laughs with customers at the Hyde Park Market in St. Louis on Saturday, May 29, 2021 from behind a pile of mustard greens, an early season harvest and a hit with customers, he explains. The Hyde Park Farmers markets is one of the only weekly markets in north St. Louis. Right now, its just a few vendors and tents.

A customer holds some of Lewis’ mustard greens and a pepper plant while chatting with the urban farmer at the Hyde Park Market on May 29, 2021. By providing not only food, but plants, Lewis hopes to give people the ability to grow their own produce.

Lewis lets his son, Tyrean Lewis Jr., and daughter, Jada Lewis, help water some pepper plants at the farm in Florissant. Missouri on May 31, 2021. Tyrean hopes to pass on the skills he has developed to his children and the young people who come volunteer on the farm. “I would love them all to be farmers, but I won’t be disappointed if they don’t,” says Lewis, “as long as they learn where healthy food comes from.”

Lewis examines a blossom on a cucumber plant while weeding at the farm in Florissant on June 1, 2021.