One core value has driven Rich Andrews for his entire career: the health of our planet is worth fighting for.
As a kid, he didn’t think of his family’s farm in eastern Kansas as much more than a beautiful playground. But as he got older and pursued a career in chemical engineering, agriculture became a key component of his life’s work. After traveling the world and learning about innovative farming technologies, he founded his own company that would eventually work with NASA to grow plants in space. After sharing that detail, he chuckled. “I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true.”
After spending decades working on scientific research related to agriculture, he had the opportunity to purchase a farm of his own after helping his mother sell their farm back in Kansas. He purchased a seven-acre property in Boulder in 2007, and by 2008 started a CSA where local families could help work the field in exchange for their own share of organic produce each week. A firm believer in organic farming, Rich feels strongly that everyone deserves access to organic food, no matter how much money they may or may not have.
That why when he heard about Community Food Share’s need for land to farm this summer, the only question he had was “why not?” He and his wife ended their CSA program a few years ago, leaving more than 25,000 square feet available to farm. Now, Community Food Share can grow thousands of pounds of fresh, organic produce thanks to the generosity of Andrews’ Family Farm.
