Dirtbaby Farm is a creative farm business stewarding 1/4 acre of leased land in Northwest Philadelphia. As partners to this borrowed land, we grow fresh, organic vegetables and herbs for our community of neighbors, fellow working artists, mothers and children.  

Dirtbaby was founded in 2019 by Evelyn Langley with the strong encouragement and support of friends, including worker-owner Arielle Colella, who was Dirtbaby Farm’s first CSA member to sign up. Amalia Colón-Nava joined that first season, too, as a dedicated volunteer. United by our shared background as performance artists, we found our creative passions coalesce over time in the work of growing food for our community.  And by winter 2021, Dirtbaby had transitioned into a worker-owned cooperative, reflecting our collective ownership over the business.

As farmers, we are committed to no-till growing methods that insist on embodied relationships to land.  Our growing practices are focused on soil health and water conservation; we amend our soil with locally-made compost and work to keep our farm’s waste low.  The food we grow is chemical-free, small-scale and hyper-local!  We share our farm’s produce, along with corresponding weekly newsletters and recipes, through our CSA program, which can be purchased with SNAP benefits.

As artists, we recognize the need for space and support for creative projects that are in conversation with nature.  We run an artist residency program from May to October that offers a stipend, produce, and farming experience to an artist in exchange for bringing more artistry to our CSA members and physical farm space.

As caregivers, we’re motivated to be a resource of health and community-sourced care for parents of young children. With Feed the Parents, we distribute free postpartum meals on a weekly basis during our growing season, all made from our farm’s fresh produce. This work is rooted in relationships with local birthworkers and chefs, and so far has been made possible through individual donations.