Harvesting Th e Power of Plants: A Heart to Heart with Josh Lee of Astoria’s Green Top Farms Interview by Hayley Bridgewater My first Spring feature of 2015 is a perfect combination of things I adore—nutritious food, local business, genuine concern for the big picture, and an interview full of passion that inspires and energizes. Take note—these guys have a huge future (plus, their Instagram is addicting!) Josh Lee fell in love with farming when he was ten, following an afternoon working in a tobacco field with his Granddad. After several summers working on the farm, Josh attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead Scholar and 4-year Varsity Wrestler. After college, Josh worked as an independent insurance agent, and was a founding board member of Nourish International, a non-profit company that fights poverty 22 | BOROMAG.COM | APRIL 2015 through student action. In 2010, Josh moved to New York City to become a Special Education teacher in the South Bronx. As a teacher, he launched his school’s first wrestling team. Seeing kids from all over the world work together inspired him to co-found Lucha Vida, a wrestling based non-profit organization focused on youth development. After seeing kids come to school hungry on a regular basis, Josh decided it was time to return to his roots. He founded Green Top Farms on the firm belief that in a world of abundance, everyone should at least have access to real food. BORO: Tell us about the origins of Green Top Farms. Josh Lee: Both sides of my family have been farming for as many generations as anyone can remember. I grew up working on my family’s tobacco farm in rural North Carolina, and always planned to get back into farming, although I thought it would be after I GREN LIVING
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