(Top left: Sam and Brooke Redmond, FBEN's Founding Director; Sam and Vera Simon-Nobes, current FBEN Coordinator at FBEN Conference in Baltimore, 2019; Sam and Marilyn at Shelburne Farms in 2019; Sam, Marilyn, Shelburne Farms Program Director, Megan Camp and chicken at Shelburne Farms, 2019; Sam and kids at Shelburne Farms, 2019; Sam at FBEN Conference, 2011; Sam says "Ready, fire, aim!" with FBEN founders, 2006; Sam and Megan Camp, 2006.)
This winter, the Farm-Based Education Network lost a cherished friend and founding partner who spent most of his 95 years making the world a better place.
Sam Feldman was a force of nature who saw the potential in every interaction and connected people with effortless grace. His boundless dedication, enthusiasm, and incredible philanthropic generosity was instrumental in launching the Farm-Based Education Network.Â
Sam’s strong intuition powered his signature strategy: "ready, fire, aim," a testament to his bold vision and belief in the power of action. While establishing the Farm Institute on Martha’s Vineyard, Sam connected with farm-based educators and early conversations about the need for a networking and information sharing resource for the growing field. Sam sparked action in 2006 when he funded a 2-day facilitated retreat, hosted by Shelburne Farms, convening representatives from nearly 20 farm-based education programs from New England, New York and Delaware. The retreat was designed to share ideas and explore possibilities but in an unforgettable moment, Sam, having sensed the consensus and collaborative energy, proposed abandoning the agenda to spend time developing what is now the Farm-Based Education Network offering to seed the effort to get it off the ground in partnership with Shelburne Farms. By the end of the retreat, the attendees had joined as leaders and founding board and established the name and mission to inspire, nurture, and promote farm based education. Sam shared the vision that every child should have access to farms to learn about the tangible realities of agriculture, the intricate connection between farmers and their communities, and about life itself. He attributed his inspiration to his childhood realization that the farmers along the route from Baltimore to his family’s apparel business in Hampstead were the husbands of the seamstresses creating the garments. In a cyclical moment decades later, Sam returned to the roots of his inspiration in 2019 through underwriting and attending the 7th Farm-Based Education Network Conference at the Pearlstone Center in Reisterstown, MD, just 9 miles from Hampstead.
Sam was a strong and benevolent advocate, founder, and leader of many Jewish, educational and cultural institutions, including the National Widowers' Organization, a resource he established following his own experience mourning the death of his beloved wife, celebrated artist Gretchen Vogel Feldman. Sam’s devotion to Gretchen and the family they created with daughters Dene and Leigh was a cornerstone of his life and a profound inspiration. So to his care for his late-in-life predeceased partner Marilyn Meyerhoff.
Sam Feldman’s legacy will live in the countless lives he touched. The seeds of knowledge, connection, and compassion that he planted will inspire generations to come.
Sam, with gratitude and appreciation for all you did for the Farm-Based Education Network and for your remarkable impact on the world, we thank you. Rest well dear friend!