Episode 1

How a Philly Bouncer Became an Organic Farmer

Kegan Hilaire was hard at work as a bouncer in Philly, with no plans to become an organic farmer. Until one day, he cracked open a pasture-raised egg with an impossibly orange yolk and he wondered, “Why is this egg so much better than the ones in the grocery store?”


This is the story of a nightclub bouncer who found himself in the middle of a field with a handful of seeds and a dream to bring healthy, organic food to everyone, especially those who can least afford it. Today, Kegan Hilaire is the owner of Blackbird Farms, an organic vegetable farm in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, and as Small Farms and Diversified Vegetable Consultant for Rodale Institute, he’s helping folks start their own sustainable agriculture ventures. Kegan’s love for food, farming, and community is absolutely inspiring and he’s eager to share practical tips for how anyone can grow anything anywhere. 


To see what Kegan’s growing at Blackbird Farms, go to https://blackbirdfarms.square.site/

And to learn more about how you can benefit from organic farming visit RodaleInstitute.org 


Connect with Kate on youtube.com/katetucker and instagram.com/katetuckermusic, and please follow the show and leave a review, it means a lot to us! 


If you liked this episode, check out Jon Turner: Veteran on a Life-Giving Mission (season 1, episode 2)


Hosted and executive produced by Kate Tucker, Hope Is My Middle Name is a podcast by Consensus Digital Media in collaboration with Reasonable Volume.



About the Podcast

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Hope Is My Middle Name
with Kate Tucker

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About your host

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Kate Tucker

Storyteller and artist Kate (Hope) Tucker first saw America from the passenger side of her grandparents’ eighteen-wheeler. She would hit the road again touring the country with her rock band, and now she’s on a different kind of tour, a listening tour in search of hope.