Everything is wrapped around food.
LaShauna Austria is the passionate founder of Kindred Seedlings, a farm in Alamance County that seeks to combat the racism that has historically been embedded within the farming community. With little prior knowledge of how to navigate starting a small business, LaShauna drew on her experience of being surrounded by neighbors who grew food alongside each other to lay the foundation for the project she would undertake. Her time working at a well-known farmers market where she had yet to meet anyone who looked like her sparked LaShauna’s desire to create representation for the Black community within agricultural spaces.
With these experiences in mind, LaShauna had a clear purpose that would drive her vision as she set out to increase Black representation in farming. LaShauna strives to be a model for her community and encourage Black farmers to proudly display their own brilliance with food. By targeting the root systemic injustices behind the inequality in the farming community, LaShauna advocates for meaningful action to take place in order to change the landscape of food insecurity.