Florida woman wins ag award for sustainable efforts

Angela TenBroeck, an entrepreneur, fourth-generation farmer and educator from Florida, received Florida’s 2021 Woman of the Year in Agriculture award for her efforts in sustainable ag work, food insecurity and social change. The award is sponsored by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Tallahassee, Florida, in conjunction with the Florida State Fair Authority, Tampa, Florida.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried announced TenBroeck as this year’s woman of the year in ag award recipient during the Florida State Fair in Tampa Dec. 13.

“Angela has made a tremendous contribution to our state with her commitment to sustainability, decreasing food insecurity and improving communities across Florida,” says Fried. “She is a true inspiration to women in the agricultural industry, and we are so proud to honor her with this award.”

TenBroeck and her family have been hydroponic farmers in North Florida since the 1970s. She is an entrepreneur in the public and private sector, as well as a professional educator specializing in STEM and health curricula in middle and high school education

In 2013, TenBroeck launched the Center for Sustainable Agricultural Excellence and Conservation, a nonprofit that works with local farmers to create a modern and sustainable ag model.

On top of managing and advising on ag products across the country and the Caribbean, TenBroeck runs Aqua Hortus, company that develops and operates controlled-environment facilities that grow high quality, safe produce year-round.

TenBroeck also established Foodery Farms, a project that tackles how brownfield sites are used in food insecure communities in Jacksonville. The project encourages growing produce in any space available, including containers, towers, planter boxes, serpentine systems, aquaponics and recirculating deep-water culture beds. It also serves as an education and training opportunity for formerly incarcerated women looking to contribute to the local food system.

Additionally, TenBroeck has contributed to the development and launch of Trader Hill Farm, a commercial aquaponics farm in Hilliard, and Worldwide Aquaponics, a commercial aquaponics farm in East Palatka.