About Us
OUR MISSION
To provide access to fresh produce so people of all economic backgrounds can have a healthy lifestyle.
OUR VISION
- To remove barriers that restrict food security in our community.
- To reduce our environmental footprint by planting, growing, harvesting, processing, and distributing food in sustainable ways.
- To impact people's lives through our thoughts, words, and actions.
OUR VALUES
- Caring for individuals with compassion, inclusion, dignity, and respect.
- Give fully without hesitation or reservation.
- Being good stewards of the resources we have.
- Exhibiting integrity through transparency.
Meet Our Founders
Kathy Barker
Founder and worker bee No. 1
Raised on a farm in rural Illinois, I learned the importance of accessibility to quality produce through gardening. Homegrown food was often shared amongst neighbors, friends, and family in my tight-knit community. You could say the seeds of growing and giving were planted early in my life. HA!
Attending College of DuPage in the late ’80s while venturing through Chicago and its suburbs, I took the scenic route to get to where I am today, back to my roots in rural Illinois. I am proudly a wife, mother to six incredible human beings, lover of all animals (including being a dog mom to 2 beautiful lab mutts), and seeker of nature. I am always striving to live a Christlike life and be the best person I can be.
The opportunities I experienced that affected me most were always volunteering at homeless shelters and food pantries. My passion for people, service to others, love for the outdoors, growing things, and personal experiences fueled my desire to develop Barker Farm Outreach Inc, bringing fresh produce into the kitchens of all people regardless of their economic background.
Trey Barker
Co-founder and worker bee No. 2
Born and raised in West Texas, the heart of oil country, I took food for granted most of my life. I grew up during a series of oil booms, which meant food was plentiful and excessive. I went to Texas Tech and worked as a journalist off and on for years before joining the Bureau County Sheriff’s Office, which was where I first began to see, up close and personal, the issues people have to navigate; personal security and nutritional security being the most threatened.