PHOTO BY DAVID BLANCHETTE
Jacksonville Mainstreet Farms cultivator Jaime Filio, AmeriCorps VISTA worker Juan Caballero, and Mainstreet Farms founder Michael Woods examine a berry bush at an urban plot in Jacksonville.
Juan Caballero plants seeds a little differently than most people.
“I use my finger to make a hole in the potted soil and that way I can judge how deep the seed will go,” Caballero said. “When I’m in the potting room sometimes I would rather have the light off than on, but it depends on the day.”
The 21-year-old Caballero is a student at the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired in Jacksonville. In April he began working for the Jacksonville Mainstreet Farms Initiative as part of a year-long partnership funded by AmeriCorps VISTA. A typical day may find Caballero planting seeds, moving plants, weeding one of the city’s community gardens or operating a lawn mower.
The work is challenging but rewarding for Caballero, who has retinitis pigmentosa. This condition affects primarily his central and distance vision, and the way that light hits his eyes can make things better or worse, depending on the situation.
“I still see things but sometimes they are just a blur,” Caballero said. “I try my hardest to find different ways to perform my duties and adapt to the situation. I use my sense of touch to compensate for my vision when I need to.”
Caballero grew up in Aurora and enrolled in ISVI last year after the school system in his hometown could no longer provide the accommodations that Caballero needed for his deteriorating vision. He found the Jacksonville school to be a good fit.
“ISVI is four hours from where I lived, so I didn’t know how to feel about going so far away just because I had a certain problem,” Caballero said. “But after I got there, they offered me a lot of opportunities like sports, speech team and a video gaming club.”
ISVI also offers a job program for its students so they can receive real-world work experience in the field of their choice. That field for Caballero is agriculture, as he has been interested in growing things his entire life.
When Caballero told the ISVI superintendent of his love for the land, she introduced him to Michael Woods, the founder of Jacksonville Mainstreet Farms.
Caballero started as a volunteer and “he came with a zeal and a passion and was on time each and every day,” Woods said. “We then offered to extend this opportunity and applied for a position through AmeriCorps VISTA.”
AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program that provides year-long, full-time employment for individuals who assist nonprofit organizations. A partnership between AmeriCorps VISTA and Jacksonville Mainstreet Farms means that Caballero is paid a salary for his work, he receives hands-on experience and the local urban farming operation can offer additional sustainable food resources for the community.
However, the Trump administration notified AmeriCorps April 25 that approximately 85% of the agency’s staff were being placed on leave and ended nearly $400 million in grants. According to America’s Service Commission: “This sudden termination will shutter more than 1,000 programs and prematurely end the service of over 32,000 AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers.” AmeriCorps has now filed a lawsuit alleging the administration does not have the power to unilaterally cut or end AmeriCorps grant or service programs.
“The federal administration’s unprecedented cuts to AmeriCorps programs are deeply concerning,” Woods said. “These volunteers are essential to (our) work addressing food insecurity in our community. Without them, our ability to meet urgent local needs will be significantly diminished.”
Maintreet Farms is headquartered in the old MacMurray Hall on the former campus of MacMurray College in Jacksonville. The building is surrounded by a green lawn, as are the Mainstreet Farms plots scattered throughout the city, and the frequent rains this spring means the grass must be cut routinely.
“We’re probably not going to put him on the lawn mower on a sunny day because his vision limits what he can do under those conditions,” Woods said. “But on a cloudy day, or in the shade, absolutely. And he can always plant and transplant things, he is literally always willing to dig in.”
Caballero has been tasked with the Mainstreet Farms’ seed program where the operation creates its own seeds and plants them. This is especially important with heirloom seeds, as purchasing these seeds can be expensive.
“This job makes me happy because I feel like I’m a part of something,” Caballero said. “Every day I do something different, and it’s all fun. And I like the interaction I have had with people here in the Jacksonville community.”
Jacksonville Mainstreet Farms takes vacant lots and turns them into vibrant farms to provide fresh produce and to curb food insecurity in the city’s neighborhoods. The operation farms a total of 15 acres across the city and is also developing natural, plant-lined walking paths through parts of town. Working for the organization has convinced Caballero to continue pursuing agriculture as a career.
“I want to attend a university and go into agriculture or agribusiness; those things interest me,” Caballero said. “I want to continue my education and further my goals.”