Saving Seeds: A Revived Historical Jewish Agricultural Settlement in New Jersey Takes on Climate Change

This lecture will describe the efforts of the Alliance Community Reboot (ACRe) organization to rebuild a Jewish community farm on the land where the Alliance Colony was founded in 1882 as one of the first Jewish agricultural settlements in the United States. This farm, which remains in the hands of descendants of one of the original settlers of the Alliance Colony, neighbors a historic synagogue and Jewish cemetery. This historic setting informs the vision for the organization but the goals for the farm are also grounded in twenty-first century values including sustainability and food justice. Their combined dedication to Jewish history and environmental values is exemplified by the designation of a large portion of ACRe’s land resources to the Experimental Farm Network, an organization that is breeding seeds to combat climate change.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Adrienne Krone is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and Director of Jewish Life at Allegheny College. Her research focuses on food and farming practices in contemporary American religions. In her manuscript, “American Manna: Religious Responses to the American Industrial Food System” she investigates the religious complexity present in contemporary food reform movements. Her current project is an ethnographic and historical study of the Jewish community farming movement in North America funded by a grant from Farm Forward and the Leichtag Foundation. When she’s not teaching or writing about food and farming she enjoys gardening, cooking, and canning.