How one historic farm connects the past to a future of food security and community strength
Just a few miles from downtown San Antonio, an unassuming stretch of farmland behind Mission San Juan holds a powerful lesson: farming can be more than food production—it can be resistance, resilience, and renewal.
Operated by the San Antonio Food Bank in collaboration with Delve Experiences, this acequia-fed farm blends centuries of tradition with a modern mission: growing food not just to feed—but to teach, heal, and sustain communities facing hunger.
🌱 What Is Resilience in Agriculture?
At the Mission San Juan farm, resilience looks like:
- Planting crops suited to both history and climate—okra, beans, herbs, and peppers that can withstand drought and thrive in the South Texas sun.
- Reviving centuries-old acequia irrigation systems that continue to nourish the land without high-tech dependency.
- Creating hands-on opportunities for visitors to understand how land, water, labor, and justice are interconnected.
It’s a living model of how farms—even small, urban ones—can respond to food insecurity not with charity alone, but with systemic thinking.
🌾 A Historic Site, A Modern Fight
The land behind Mission San Juan has been farmed for hundreds of years—first by Indigenous peoples, later by Spanish missionaries, and today by the San Antonio Food Bank's agricultural team.
That continuity is more than symbolic. It’s a reminder that communities have always depended on the land to survive—and that today's hunger is not inevitable. It's solvable, especially when we center local knowledge, cultural stewardship, and community-based solutions.
👨🌾 How the Food Bank Is Adapting
The San Antonio Food Bank grows food across more than 75 acres at multiple sites, but the Mission San Juan farm is one of its most educational. Staff here are experimenting with regenerative practices, pollinator habitat, and seasonal planting—all while:
- Training volunteers
- Hosting school and group tours
- Supporting operations that feed over 100,000 families a week
It’s a form of farming that says: this land can carry stories, nourish neighbors, and teach the next generation. All at once.
✨ Lessons for the Rest of Us
Whether you’re an educator, a policy advocate, or a curious local, the Mission San Juan fields offer more than a pretty view. They invite us to rethink the role of agriculture in public life. To ask:
- What does it mean to farm in a way that builds community resilience?
- How can historical systems like acequias inform modern climate adaptation?
- How do we connect the dots between hunger relief, land use, and education?
“This place changed how I think about food—not just where it comes from, but why it’s grown the way it is.”
— Real Delve visitor review
🧭 Visit, Learn, Reflect
You can experience these ideas in action through a guided group tour. Led by the San Antonio Food Bank’s team of farmers and educators, each visit offers a glimpse into the resilience that grows when land, history, and people are given space to thrive.
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