Southern SOIL
Table Talk
While attending a small liberal arts college in Minnesota, Russell learned that there were even more reasons to protect the family farm than she had realized. “I was introduced to the bigger picture of environmental reasons why small farms are better and some of the ethical and philosophical
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arguments about what are we eating and what are ACH ISSUE OF SOUTHERN SOIL FEATURES A CONVERSATION WITH AN INDIVIDUAL REPRESENTING A PERSPECTIVE
ALONG THE FOOD SUPPLY LINE. FOR THIS ISSUE, I MET UP WITH KRISTIN RUSSELL, AT THE
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SENTIENT BEAN IN SAVANNAH. KRISTIN IS THE CO-OWNER OF THE BEAN, A VEGETARIAN CAFE AND COFFEE HOUSE THAT HAS BEEN DEDICATED TO SOURCING LOCALLY SINCE BEFORE THEY HAD MUCH OF A LOCAL FOOD SCENE TO SOURCE FROM. Russell grew up on her family’s farm in the midwest and although her own family encouraged her to leave that life and find employment opportunities elsewhere, she has remained committed to doing her part to protect the family farm in America. “I grew up on a small family farm, farming and ranching in Kansas. So that is my connection and always has been my connection to food. I’m mostly farmer-centric, my heart is driven by the desire to not see the death of the family farm in my lifetime,” Russell explained.
we doing.” Realizing she wouldn’t be farming herself, Russell made the decision to support small farms the best way she knew how. “It all kind of coalesced into … ok, I can’t be a farmer because it’s too hard and my parents won’t let me,” she said with a laugh. “But I am interested in raising people’s awareness of this issue and to try to create opportunities for people to make responsible decisions.” It’s that philosophy that guided Russell and her college roommate as they opened The Sentient Bean and it is still the foundation from which the restaurant operates. “When we started the Bean, we tried to source local produce. We decided not to serve meat from the beginning. Not because I didn’t want to eat it, but because there wasn’t a good local source for it that I felt ok about,” Russell. explained. (con tinued on page 26)
