Meet Our 2017 Seasonal Farmers

Hannah Holby 

What is your background in farming? I grew up in South Jersey on an old family farm. I think this began a romanticized idea of farming. I spent my childhood building forts in the hay barn and getting lost in the corn fields. This love of country life lead me to Earlham College which had a student run farm and a campus in rural Indiana. I ended up majoring in art with a focus in painting.

What is your connection to Philly? After graduating I moved to Philadelphia with a group of friends and began cobbling together jobs in education and art. Over the last 10 years I have left Philadelphia to work on films, farms, and Quaker summer camps. But I have always come back to the city in between.

Most recently I worked for the Free Library helping to run maker spaces in North Philadelphia's libraries. I loved the work but I had long hours in windowless rooms. After a couple of years I began dreaming of working outdoors again. I left Philly (one last time?) to work for friends who had started their own farm in Vermont. I loved the work and realized I wanted to continue to find ways of working in agriculture. After the season ended I returned to Philadelphia to live with my brother, sister-in-law and brand new baby niece. Working for Weavers Way Farm was a perfect way to continue my education as a new farmer and be close to family. 

What are you most excited about for this season? Farm work can be tough but for me it combines creativity, physical labor, and community in a way that feels nourishing and sustainable. I can’t wait to get to know the Weavers Way community better and be a part of the urban farming landscape of Philadelphia.

Anna Danusiar

What is your background in farming? My passion for growing food has been slowly cultivated by suburban family gardens and my more advanced grandparents' gardens. I'm looking for the first true season to break me in! I worked at Food Moxie last season, which involved some field projects, and interned with them the season before that. 

What is your connection to Philly? Gram and Grampop have lived here for my lifetime and more, so we always road-tripped this way to see family. That family includes cousins, aunts, and uncles, too. Over time, I fell for Philly and came to study at Eastern University. 

What turned you on to farming? A combination of my love of cooking good food and my desire to leave the soil of our communities better than we found it — these were the main attractions to farming for me. The flavors and environmental complexities have just continued to motivate me on this journey!

What are you most excited about for this season? Being a part of a team as amazing as Nina, Emma, Brendan and Hannah — just soaking in their experiences and stories.

What do you want the Co-op membership to know about you and/or the farms? You might see my dog Penny sometimes, if you're out at the farms! She loves chewing sticks, jumping, running and making new friends. Her current favorite accessory is her gray bow on her collar, and her favorite toy is her Fox.