Meet the Punk Rock Farmer, Jonathan Lawler.
Jonathan Lawler is the founder of Brandywine Creek Farms. In 2016 him and and his wife, Amanda transitioned their for profit produce farm into a nonprofit operation. In that first year they donated over 460,000 lbs of fresh produce to food banks, food pantries, and community centers. Since 2016 that number is well over 4,000,000 lbs of produce. They have also created numerous job opportunities for at risk youth, formerly incarcerated
individuals, and people recovering from addiction. When Jonathan and Amanda started farming full time in 2010 they were conventional farmers. Amanda grew up on a large commodity farm and Jonathan grew up on a small horse farm until his parents moved to Indianapolis.
Farming was something they both felt they needed to get back to. In 2012 Jonathan made the decision to transition to organic farming becuase of the premium prices the market was demanding. Once they started Brandywine Creek Farms, they transitioned back to conventional because of the noticeable increases in yield and quality. Since then, Jonathan has helped create 5 large urban farms in Indianapolis, as well as consulting numerous others in the Midwest. Jonathan is now in the preproduction phase of a television series, simply called "The Punk Rock Farmer".
So everyone wants to know how he came to be known as the Punk Rock Farmer. In 2017 Jonathan was installing an urban farm at a community center in Indianapolis. Arriving in big diesel farm trucks pulling tractors on trailers, with loud punk rock music playing. The kids at the community center seeing this guy with long hair, shaved on both sides and a Misfits T-shirt, but wearing jeans and farm boots, it was those kids who gave him his nickname and it stuck. It wasn't just his taste in music, it is also his attitude towards hunger and food insecurity. His extremely aggressive stance in defending other farmers and his unwavering passion for people in general that solidified him being known as the Punk Rock Farmer. Jonathan has won numerous local and national awards for his work in the community.