Art: Nat Damm
Rob Jones
Cofounder, Crop Mob
Carrboro, N.C.
Like a growing number of young folks across the country, Rob Jones, 27, likes to get his hands in the dirt, making his foodshed and community more robust and vibrant. Once each month, Jones and a band of young agrarians alight upon an area farm. Calling themselves the Crop Mob, they do a big project together—say, break new ground for raised beds or harvest a labor-intensive crop like sweet potatoes. The host farmers make a big meal, and everyone eats together. Sustainable agriculture is “way, way, way more labor-intensive than industrial agriculture,” Jones told The New York Times Magazine, and the long hours can hamper one’s social life. Crop Mobs help by creating a “sense of community that people are looking for”—and “you get a lot of work done.” Since the Times article came out, the idea has gone viral. Crop Mobs have broken out all over the country. Read a Grist article about Crop Mobs.
