By Shane Mead | Staff Writer
Dr. Donna Nickerson, a licensed psychotherapist with a background in social work, grew up in Clifton, just about 45 minutes from Waco. In her later years of high school, her family moved to Waco, where she attended Waco High and was able to familiarize herself with the city.
Nickerson’s parents ran a thrift store in East Waco for some time, and Nickerson would always find herself returning to visit her parents. However, when the thrift store turned into a vacant building and her parents gave her the keys in 2014, she decided to take advantage of the new opportunity to create change in a city that needed it.
“In East Waco, it was a bit of a food desert, and there wasn’t a lot of access to food,” Nickerson said. “There were a lot of issues with food insecurity, and with me being a social worker and psychotherapist, I was like, ‘Let’s do something with this place. Let’s do something for the community.'”
So, Nickerson got to work. She said it took her about three years to correct the soil in the plot of land and transform the building that once held a thrift shop into Da’ Shack, which took the idea of a farmer’s market and added the perspective and knowledge of someone with a Ph.D in psychology and a background in social work.
The first point of Da’ Shack Farmer’s Market was to tackle food insecurity by educating Waco locals on gardening, given how advantageous it can be because of the regenerative cycle of crops.
“The cost of food has gone up,” Nickerson said. “People aren’t able to afford a lot of the food that’s in the grocery store. You may not be able to grow everything, but you can start off with growing some herbs, maybe potatoes, tomatoes and onions. All of those things add up.”
Secondly, Nickerson said she wanted Da’ Shack to be a hub for people struggling with their mental health. In her experience, Nickerson said she has noticed a stigma behind going to an office like hers for mental health.
But the action of gardening can actually be quite soothing, which the dean of the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work, Jon Singletary, said is what he’s learned working with Da’ Shack.
“Any attempt to raise plants really can nurture mental health in positive ways,” Singletary said. “Something about caring for something else — caring for some living thing, keeps you connected outside of yourself. There’s something about the act of just trying to offer care for something else that really is a healthy practice.”
Through Da’ Shack’s continued partnerships with Baylor University and its staff, notably the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work Professor Stephanie Boddie, Nickerson has become a core member of S.C.R.A.P Collective, an organizational partnership to address food waste and insecurity, as well as climate resilience.
A large part of the education Da’ Shack offers is teaching people how to compost correctly, which Nickerson explained has a larger impact on the environment than some may realize.
“Gardening is bigger than just growing a tomato,” she said. “A lot of times we waste and we throw things away that we should be recycling. That’s where we fill in the gaps — showing people that, for example, instead of killing your weeds, let’s allow the bees to feed off the weeds because we need bees in order to live. That’s the education piece; that’s what’s missing.”
Being someone who visits Da’ Shack quite frequently, whether it be to work, to learn or simply to enjoy, Singletary said the constant reminders to compost have been especially helpful in carrying out his moral duties as a Christian.
“I feel like composting as a form of reducing waste really is a part of how I understand my faith and my own moral obligations and ethical ways of trying to care for God’s creation,” he said. “I know it’s such a small difference, but part of it is the difference it makes for me. It’s a practice of reminding me to do more. There’s something about that little bit of invested time that reminds me about the practice of caregiving.”
Singletary said visiting Da’ Shack and learning the methods, values and lessons Dr. Nickerson provides can be a great opportunity for students.
“Saving salad clippings is an example, and taking those to the Baylor garden, where there’s a compost, and adding them to that pile,” he said. “Just that practice is a way to remember that when I’m doing this, I’m doing it for God’s creation. When I’m doing this, I’m being a responsible citizen and joining others in trying to make a difference. It reminds us that it’s not just about us.”
Da’ Shack runs seasonally, typically from March through June, and is open on Fridays from 2-6 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The market will be open until May 31 this year, which was announced in an April 13 Instagram post. Da’ Shack is located at 925 Houston St.
