The Accidental Farmer

Banks Helfrich stands barefoot in the dirt, a tangle of tomatoes, lacinto kale, turnip greens, squash blossoms, and edible owers rising to meet the folded cu s of his muddy overalls. “My Minnesota tuxedo,” he says with a warm smile. Out here on the farm, there’s no sign of tra c congestion, no crowds.

Just … peace. The clanking of bamboo and sugarcane. The rustling of lemongrass. A steady hum of honey bees.“When I’m here, in the dirt, I can just let go of everything and live in the moment. I’m free,” he says. Banks treasures freedom. The American kind, which is why he’s also an independent candidate for the Florida House of Rep- resentatives. But there’s more to Banks than just politics—he’s also deeply passionate about farming. For him, sustainability isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a personal calling.

Born in Tarpon Springs, Banks grew up on three acres in New Port Richey, the 6th in a family of eight.“We had one cow, one horse, a couple of chickens, and a small vegetable garden. I always loved working in the garden. I mean, what boy doesn’t try to dig their way to China?” he jokes. “I grew up with dirt under my ngernails; it’s in my blood to do this.”

And by this, he means the seven-acre food forest he’s cultivating o Sam’s Lake Road in Clermont.

Long before he was a farmer, however, Banks attended Auburn University, then moved to Georgia State University for graduate school in Sports Nutrition, but seven months before graduation, he chucked it all to join the circus. “I went to clown college, literally,” Banks says. “Ringling Brother’s Barnum Bailey Clown College, and graduated with a Bachelor of Fun Arts.”

Indeed, his life is peppered with a colorful cast of characters from the two years he spent on the road with the Greatest Show on Earth. After circus life, he dabbled in standup comedy and acting. His other career highlights also include writer, editor, lmmaker, and lm historian. And while he still pens a column for the Clermont Sun, dabbles in acting, and spends four hours every day networking and door-knocking, his passion is tending the land.

“I bought this property, a former citrus grove, in 2013, but didn’t move here until 2016 and built the house in 2018. My favorite thing is the outdoor shower, but it took a long time to gure out how to make that work,” he says with a laugh. Though Banks is an extrovert, and loves talking to “anyone with a pulse,” he actually enjoys doing the DIY work himself.

From outdoor showers to rainwater collection to grey water recycling, Banks has built it all from scratch.

It wasn’t until 2020, during the pandemic, that the food forest component of the farm came to fruition. “Pineapples, mulberries, blackberries, blueberries, sugarcane, a food-bearing orchard. Plus a vegetable garden, herb garden, and I even had a tea garden!”

“What I’m attempting to create is a sustainable oasis,” he says. “We live with concrete under our feet, and we have forgotten the feeling of the earth. We forgot how great it is to eat something o the plant. I call it the real fast food, from plant to mouth. None of this McDonald’s stu . And it’s not just me.

There’s a real hunger in people to get back to the earth. I think COVID did it, in a way. When the shelves at grocery stores were empty, people had to rethink where they would get their food. This farm is my way of showing them how it can be done.”

Which is exactly why Banks opens his farm to the public once a month for complimentary “Here On The Farm” tours. “All you need to bring is a bucket/bag, a hat, and your curiosity,” he says.

For Banks, it’s about more than just farming— “It’s all about community,” he says, his voice tinged with the sincerity of a man deeply rooted in the earth. “Connecting people to the land, and connecting people with each other.