Daron Babcock is the founder of BonTon Farms in South Dallas, is an agricultural intervention program aiming to improve the nutritional status of the community. Daron is originally from West Texas, where he met his wife and moved to Oregon to start to raise their two sons. A few years later, his wife soon recognized something about a bump on her tongue, so she went to get a biopsy done on the bump. The doctors soon realized that the lump was cancer. His wife later died, and this sent him in a tailspin in making the right choices. He began going to clubs, engaging in criminal activity, and consuming illegal drugs. He soon realized the bad things he was partaking in and went to the Alcohol and Drug rehab facility, and right outside of the facility, he fell to his knees, asking for help. He decided to move back to Texas because it was only him in Oregon, and it would be best if he and the kids could be close to family. Daron was living comfortably in Frisco, and one day, a friend asked him to join him in a meeting with a community of people coming out of the prison system.
At first, he was very optimistic about going, but once he got there, he was struck with the perseverance of the individuals in the area. Daron saw a problem in South Dallas with the issue of opportunity to strive in the community with it being a desert for food, jobs, poverty, and much more. He saw that the people are left in an endless cycle of poverty, crime, and unhealthy living. When Daron recognized the problem, he felt that this was his calling in life. He moved into a house with no electricity and one bed, to fully understand and help the community. Many members of the city dealt with the lack of jobs, so he set out by teaching them new skills such as lawn care services. Once people started calling in sick, he saw that the community lacked healthy and fresh food choices. They soon started planting a garden in an empty lot, and the people that help tend to it were able to take fruits/vegetables with them. The garden allowed them to develop a new skill that would open doors for job opportunities and more. After being turned down by multiple times, employers over liabilities concerns with members of the community. They soon got an offer to work with bees, and a guy funded the business for two years. After the success they produced, they opened BonTon Honey Company, but they didn't stop there. Once Habitat for Humanity saw the great work they were doing, they were given two lots to expand and create a farm. Daron defines the farm as a "vehicle." The community's vehicle needed gas to run, and without healthy food to eat, the city was dying. The goal Darron wanted to magnify was to normalize the community and disrupt the status quo. With the creation of the farm, they were able to grow food and sell their food. Darron understood, for a community to succeed, they needed to create value, and the food did just that.
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