Brockton, Massachusetts is truly is a multi-cultural city I really love but in 2020 and study came out identifying it as food desert; being one of Massachusetts' most deprived communities.

Since then, it has only gotten worse with two additional supermarket chains leaving our town and trapping more of this community in an unhealthy food situation.

What is a food desert?

An urban area in which it is difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food.

But this isn’t just a Brockton area problem. Despite being one of the most affluent states in the nation, Massachusetts has fewer supermarkets per capita than almost any other state, ranking third lowest nationwide.

That’s why I created Purple Greens Farm where we transform unused local lawns into productive gardens, creating efficient micro-farms that are both solar-powered and utilize recycled rainwater.

I am raising funds to build a small team that will manage these micro-farms for property owners, enabling them to keep 10% of their harvest while the rest is sold to neighbors within a 2-mile radius. This model not only promotes access to fresh fruits and vegetables but also helps create sustainable food sources and add jobs for locals within the community.

We started in 2025, building on property in Brockton to test out the best regenerative agriculture techniques while choosing which foods grow best in our area. Because our expenses are so low, we reached profitable within the first 5 months by selling young plants online to gardeners and selling pre-orders for our fresh produce boxes.

What is regenerative agriculture?

A farming approach focused on improving soil health and ecosystem function by working with nature to restore land, not just sustain it, aiming to reverse degradation, increase biodiversity, improve the water cycle, and sequester carbon to fight climate change, all while building farm resilience and profitability.

In Year 2, 2026, with your donation, Purple Greens Farm can increase the amount of food we grow by purchasing a larger greenhouse that can safely grow food in colder months to help us meet the food needs of our neighbors.

Your funding will also help us expand our first micro-farm and build 2-3 more in the next 12 months. This will allow us to cover the fees to attend local farmer’s markets and offer local grocery delivery service to our neighbors.

There is a lot of uncertainty regarding food insecurity in America but with your help we can start redesigning a food system that gives us, the people, back our power to survive and thrive together.

Thank you so much for your time and I look forward to connecting with you in the future!

Akinyi O.

Pronounced Ah-KIN-Yee

‍ CEO and Farmer Founder ‍