Louis Armstrong said, “If you ever get a second chance in life, you’ve got to go all the way.” The trick about second chances, though, is to recognize them.
For Margie Raimondo, there was no question when her second chance came: it was a clear morning with a gorgeous blue sky on Sept. 11, 2001, and in her hand was a plane ticket on United Airlines Flight 93 from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco, California — the flight that ultimately crashed in a Pennsylvania field after being hijacked.
At the last minute, Margie decided to change her schedule, which not only saved her life but began a journey back to her roots and to the passion she’s always held dear to her heart: helping people connect to their food. 
After years of learning to cook with renowned chefs, working on farms across the Mediterranean and seeing high-yield, small space growing methods firsthand, Margie created Urbana Farmstead, a place she dreamed up to teach people to not only feed their bodies but to feed their souls, as well.
Nestled in south Little Rock just 13 minutes from downtown, Urbana Farmstead uses vertical gardening to produce high-yield crops in a space about the size of a large backyard.
Margie laughs when people say, “I wish I could do that,” and says, “You can! You can have an entire herb garden in one little pot. You can have a tomato, a cucumber and grow things right on your balcony or patio.”
She doesn’t just tell them. She shows them how. Margie is empowering a new generation in the art of homesteading. Her cooking and canning classes teach people where their food comes from and how to use that food in a variety of ways.
Traditionally, homesteading was a skill passed down by family from generation to generation but, recently, it’s seen a resurgence.
Margie is quick to point out that, economically, people need to grow their food and, from a taste perspective, there’s just nothing like the taste of a tomato that you can pick from a vine in your garden.
TUNE IN:
Friday, August 12, 2022
“Good Roots” inside “Arkansas Week,” 7:30 p.m.
LEARN MORE:
“Good Roots” is produced in partnership with Arkansas Farm Bureau; additional funding is provided by Union Pacific Foundation.
Watch social extras, full episodes and more on YouTube at youtube.com/ArkansasPBS.