In the rolling hills of Madison County, Kentucky, a quiet revolution is taking place on a century-old piece of land. At the center of it all is Tiffany Bellfield El-Amin—a farmer, doula, activist, and entrepreneur—whose life’s work is stitched together by family legacy, radical hospitality, and a deep commitment to equity in Kentucky’s food system.
Born in Austin, Texas, and raised between Madison County and Lexington, Bellfield now calls the farmland of her ancestors home. Her property is more than just a working farm—it’s a sanctuary where fruits, berries, and herbs grow in harmony with pollinators. But these crops serve more than culinary purposes. For Bellfield, the harvest is medicine.
“I started eating flowers, I started going into herbalism, and I was like, ‘Okay, the Ancestors are here—they’re here,'” Bellfield said. “And it was as easy as… dandelions—I was led not to cut the dandelions, then I learned about dandelion root, and now dandelion root is one of the main ingredients in my teas. Everybody loves it. So the [Ancestors] were telling me.”
She’s turned her home into a community hub, where healing and celebration intersect. Her farm hosts everything from tours and farm-to-table dinners to album releases, weddings, and women’s retreats. Part of her house even serves as a birthing center.
“We’ve had home births in my house,” Bellfield said.
As a doula with over 15 years of experience, she has supported more than 50 births across Kentucky—including home births, cesareans, and multiple births—bringing life into the world while nurturing the women who bear it.
Bellfield’s professional path has always centered around empowering communities. She once served as a regional food systems coordinator for the Community Farm Alliance, covering 14 counties across Eastern and Central Kentucky. Her work connected growers, producers, and sellers—especially new and underrepresented farmers—to the resources they needed.
“If you’re a new farmer and have a whole bunch of kale, I want to help you find a market for that kale,” she said.
While doing this work, Bellfield found herself often being the only Black or brown person in the room. Interfacing with institutions like the USDA and Kentucky Department of Agriculture, she saw firsthand how Black, Latin American, and urban farmers were often left out of the conversation entirely.
“There’s no inclusivity when it comes to our local food system, and that’s a problem for me,” Bellfield said. “As a doula with moms too—they don’t feel comfortable using their EBT cards in places with predominantly white farmers.”
She recognized a generational disconnect from food systems, too. Many younger people, especially single mothers of color, hadn’t had the same opportunity to learn to cook from family or connect with the land. And many didn’t feel welcome in farmers markets and other spaces that didn’t accommodate working class families.
“The government is not hearing the voices of Black and brown people,” Bellfield said. “So I figured we need to do something else.”
During her time at the Community Farm Alliance, Bellfield helped pioneer the Kentucky Double Dollars program, which helps people who use SNAP/EBT stretch their food budget at farmers markets, keeps money in local communities, and brings a more diverse crowd to those spaces.
“For all the farmers in Kentucky, there are fewer than 500 that are Black,” she explained. “I wanted to make it where people are more comfortable in farmers markets, where equity isn’t an afterthought, and where Black farmers can tell their stories.”
Bellfield’s vision didn’t stop at the farm gate. She was the co-owner of Alfalfa Restaurant, a beloved Lexington institution known for its locally-sourced menu and delightful ambience. Like many businesses, Alfalfa took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic—but Bellfield kept pushing.
“For me, people still wanted to hang out and have good food,” she said. “Outside of that, I had a whole bunch of girls and women looking at me—who feel like they can’t be what they want to be. I’m showing them: little old Tiff is gonna do this in the middle of a pandemic.”
Today, Alfalfa Catering shines as the vibrant next chapter of Alfalfa Restaurant, demonstrating how Bellfield’s story is not abstract—it’s visible and real to the young women and girls who’ve known her since childhood.
“It wasn’t somebody you read about in a book,” she said. “It’s Tiff—the woman who’s been tutoring you since second grade. And now you see me doing all this.”
With support from a pollinator conservation grant, Bellfield expanded her vision to include a women’s retreat on her land. What started as a small gathering has grown into an annual tradition—bringing women together for rest, reconnection, and reclamation of space in nature.
She sees her connection to the land and herbs as ancestral—a kind of spiritual inheritance passed down through generations.
“I’m finding the elderberry and other wild things, and I’m finding out I’m where I’m supposed to be,” she said. “The Ancestors made it as such.”
Tiffany Bellfield El-Amin is not just tending soil—she’s restoring stories, building systems of care, and shaping Kentucky’s agricultural future from the ground up. In reclaiming her land and legacy, she’s creating space for others to do the same, proving that equity is a practice that’s rooted deeply in place.
KY Place 