Jerry Sanchez Junior, a 20-year-old college student, helps run the Jerry's Here Farm Fresh booth at a Miami green market, selling romaine, Swiss chard, tomatoes, green beans and eggplants grown on the family's Homestead farm.
The family operates a 20-acre property in Homestead and cultivates about 10 acres of that land, Jerry Sanchez Junior said. On market days he works the booth alongside his mother when his father is away; the family also operates a nearby food stand called Acemay Tacos.
"I grow romaine lettuce, Swiss chard, all the tomatoes, the green beans, the eggplants," Jerry Sanchez Junior said, describing the produce he brings to the market. He told the reporter he has been at the market his whole life: "Since I was born. When I was newborn, I was sleeping on the tables." He added that farming remains central to his life even as he pursues college classes: "You know, you're out there every day. You got a lot of animals. And then I go to school in Miami, and it's like, oh, I'm a farmer."
Sanchez Junior said the family owns 20 acres and farms about half of it: "Right now, we're sitting on 20 acres, and we farm 10 of those." He also said his family started a second business, Acemay Tacos, which operates a booth near the farm's market stall. He is studying cybersecurity and videography in college but said farming will always be part of his life: "Just love it. I grew up watching my parents work, and they never stopped working. I just I'm taking that on."
The report was filed by Cheryl Khan of WPB TV.