Growing Up With Gardening

 Hi!

My name is Reagan Bell, and I’m a sophomore at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I’m originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, and I’m majoring in finance with a collateral in international business. As we continue our series of individual stories, I’m excited to share a little bit about my connection to the mission of Battlefield Farm.

My grandma lives on a farm about 45 minutes from my house in Charlotte, and growing up I went there almost every weekend. A lot of my summer weekends were spent picking vegetables like cucumbers, squash, zucchini, and tomatoes, or fruits like cantaloupe and watermelon.

Right across from the farm, my parents owned a corn maze for ten years. During the season, from September to November, we would open it up to the community, and at the end of the season we’d let locals come pick corn straight off the stalks, which I always thought was really cool.

I loved getting my hands dirty and learning how much work actually goes into growing food. At the time, it just felt normal, it was just part of my routine, something I didn’t think twice about.

But now that I’m older, I’ve realized how unique that experience really is. I didn’t just eat fresh produce but I understood where it came from. I saw the time and effort my Grandma put into caring for and growing food firsthand, and I experienced the difference between something grown in your backyard and something bought at a grocery store. Fresh food wasn’t just something on a shelf, it was something I had a direct connection to.

Some of my favorite memories are the simple ones, picking tomatoes, bringing them inside in an old white bucket, washing them off in the sink, and then making a tomato sandwich with a glass of lemonade. Those moments taught me to value not just the food itself, but the process behind it and the people who make it possible.

That perspective has stayed with me. It’s shaped how I think about food access and why it matters so much. Not everyone gets to experience that connection, and more importantly, not everyone has consistent access to fresh, healthy food. That’s something that shouldn’t be a privilege.

That’s why the mission of Battlefield Farm resonates with me so deeply. I’ve seen how powerful fresh, locally grown food can be, and I know not everyone has the same access or connection to it that I did growing up. Being able to help provide that access to others feels incredibly meaningful to me.

To me, this mission is about more than just food, it’s about connection, opportunity, and community. It’s about making sure that families have access to the same kind of fresh, nourishing food that shaped so many of my childhood memories. I’m proud to be part of something that brings that to others, and even more proud to help carry forward a mission that creates real, lasting impact.