Central | Food/Gardening
Dawn Johnson, known in her community as the Food Lady, seeks out new opportunities to encourage the self-reliance principles of providing a sustainable healthy lifestyle, a legacy passed down through her family. In 2004, she accepted responsibility for her grandfather’s family garden space in Hough, where he had farmed over 50 years. She maintains the garden with a goal to educate the community about growing and preparing their own foods, and has taught over 150 children and families health and wellness through her “Soil to Life” gardening and cooking classes. Both a Master and Market Gardener, and certified in Food Safety and Preparation, Dawn teaches how to plan, prepare, grow, harvest, preserve and recycle natural foods. Constantly looking for ways to teach this self-sufficiency programming, she received grant funding to teach elementary children to farm and cook at Village Preparatory, Cliff Campus, and recently her “Soil to Life” curriculum was adopted by the school as part of its Enrichment programming. Dawn is a second generation graduate of Cleveland State University.
