LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — Noting that residents of Appalachia are a proud and dignified people who cherish tradition, John Paul DeJoria counts on that characteristic to encourage people to grow their own food and share it.

DeJoria, whose claim to fame is as co-founder of Paul Mitchell hair care products and styling tools (with Paul Mitchell), visited London on Thursday to celebrate the Grow Appalachia project for which he is both an advocate and sponsor.

Participants in the Grow Appalachia project celebrated with a picnic luncheon that included a variety of foods featuring home-grown vegetables.

A native of Los Angeles and now residing in Texas, DeJoria shared memories of his mother’s small garden during his childhood. With only a small space, she taught the importance of eating healthy and taking pride in growing your own food.

DeJoria became involved with the Grow Appalachia project that includes Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina, through one of his vice presidents, who hails from Kentucky.

“Tommy Callahan, one of my vice presidents, told me people in Appalachia were very dignified and proud. So he put me in touch with David (Cooke, director of Grow Appalachia) at Berea College and we got involved with Grow Appalachia,” DeJoria said. “We want to provide our fellow Americans with food and encourage people to get into gardening.”

DeJoria said the goal of Grow Appalachia is to “feed yourself and then feed families” and then sell the excess at local farmer’s markets and increase the economy through agricultural ventures.

“This also helps communities get together,” he added. “In one community, drug dealers were set up and farmers began selling their products and they pushed the drug dealers out.”

DeJoria said his motto is “Success unshared is failure” and uses that theory for his “Peace, Love and Happiness” organization to encourage Americans to help one another. He said growers who had excess produce could share with friends, family, neighbors and even local food banks.

“The more we love one another — across the state, across the country and across the world — it will spread,” he said. “We all come here on this planet with nothing — no clothes, no money, no anything. Some of us were blessed with an abundance, but even those who don’t have that can donate their time to share.”

The Grow Appalachia project provides garden space, seeds, and tools for individuals and families to grow their own food. Excess is then given to others. Wayne Riley, who oversees the local Grow Appalachia program, said the third year of the community garden involved 43 individual families who are growing corn, squash, cabbage, potatoes, beans, and other vegetables that not only encourage healthy eating, it also returns to Kentucky’s heritage of agriculture.

“I think this is a good example for the whole country,” DeJoria said. “It makes me want to do more. It makes me feel really good to do things for a lot of people.”



njohnson@sentinel-echo.com