Rob Jones

by Grist

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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.