BONTON FARMS
Bonton Farms began as a community garden in a malnourished, marginalized community in South Dallas. The benefits of the organization extend far beyond the soil to nutrition counseling, education, vocational training, job creation, affordable housing, infrastructure, and societal rehabilitation for the formerly incarcerated.
CATEGORY
Nonprofit
OBJECTIVE
Create a deeper understanding of Bonton Farms' positive ripple effects throughout a forgotten community in the heart of Dallas.
ROLE
This work was created by Element Ad 2, the pro bono entity within Ad2 Dallas/AAF Dallas. My role on this team was developing an overarching brand strategy for the integrated campaign.
BONTON: HISTORY + REALITY
The Dallas area is one of the fastest-growing metros in the country. The glitz of the city, lucrative business opportunities from the 22 Fortune 500 companies that moved here in 2017, low cost of living, and high quality of life attract people in droves.
However, under the glittering façade lies a dark past that has manifested itself in the forgotten neighborhood of Bonton – just a 7-minute drive from downtown Dallas. The Bonton neighborhood came to be in the mid 20th century as black families were forced from more Northern parts of the city by extreme racism, including a series of bombing attacks.
For decades, the area has been absent of grocery stores, reliable transportation, access to healthcare, schools, gathering places, and other staples that communities need to survive, let alone flourish. Bearing the brunt of being a food desert, Bonton residents suffer from double the rate of heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and childhood obesity than the rest of Dallas County as most residents get their food from the corner store.
PROBLEM
Bonton Farms has been lucky to have great local media coverage over the years, and many in-the-know Dallasites have at least heard of the organization. However, this awareness of Bonton Farms stops at just that – the farm.
Bonton Farms wanted to share their success beyond the farm and show how something as basic as healthy food has had positive ripple effects throughout the community and how the organization is branching outside of agricultural intervention to better the Bonton community.
RESEARCH
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Stakeholder interviews
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ESRI Tapestry zip code donor and beneficiary target segmentation
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Helixa digital target audience profile
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Historical research: documentaries, newspaper articles
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Secondary reports: food deserts, disease disparity, racial injustice, and poverty alleviation white papers
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Community survey of Bonton Farms awareness and perceptions
INSIGHTS
Remove basic human needs, destroy a civilization's entire wellbeing.
The Bonton community has had its basic physiological needs denied for years (water, food, shelter). Thus, the rest of the human needs are not met (safety, belonging, actualization).
"This isn't a problem in my city"
Dallasites think that Bonton's issues are a thing of the past and turn a blind eye to the realities that the community still faces.
SOLUTION
Redefine Community
Bonton Farms is empowering the neighborhood to use their own grit and spirit to build up their community. No longer will the community be defined by the hardships they've faced, but by what they've been able to make of it. What began as agricultural intervention now has a positive ripple effect beyond just the community garden that provides marginalized individuals the resources they need to reach their full potential in a respectful, supportive environment.
CREATIVE
