For April Harrington
April Harrington was my friend and one of the most powerful forces in the Oklahoma local food movement. She understood how important it was, and put everything she had into making a difference. She inspired future farmers at Earth Elements Farm, she fed people all over Oklahoma healthy local food through Earth Elements Market and Bakery, she empowered and equipped entrepreneurs through Earth Element’s Entrepreneur’s Kitchen, she kept the Oklahoma Food Cooperative and many other businesses financially balanced for decades, and she taught her wealth of knowledge to thousands of people through educational publications and courses like Beyond Fresh Online. The following is a personal account of my experience living, working, and celebrating with her over the last 23 years.
Self-determination is a hard and lonely road. Ideas come with a spark of inspiration and can-do will power sets in to make something happen that only you know is possible. Then problems start jumping in front of you like deer in the road and you either nearly miss or plow right through them, turning your life into a bloody mess until you can pick up the pieces and get moving again.
I watched this happen to April over and over again. Every time she picked herself up, dusted herself off, and threw herself into the next challenge without batting an eye. Ok, maybe she batted her eyes a few times, but she always came back with bigger and better plans, always determined to make it work no matter what.
She learned this from her mom. She told me how her mom’s entrepreneurism taught her how to work her tail off. Get up and go, then get up and go again. She also told me about how her mom was there for her when she had cervical cancer. She was scared by it, and other things, but, like the 1998 Toyota Tacoma with the back right corner smashed in that I drive for work every day, she just kept running.
Reliable, yes. Even after she fired me for being lazy as her farm intern (I was suffering with chronic fatigue from what I later figured out was a candida overgrowth) she hired me again to work in her brand new bakery, the one ODOT tore down for no reason. Then she dealt with me fighting with my boyfriend over the phone at work all day. I wish she had smacked me in the face and told me to break up with him, but she was just there for me through it all, even when things got really ugly.
When I had a baby and couldn’t bake any more, she made sure I got a job helping her with the accounting for the Oklahoma Food Co-op. Then I started a mushroom farm, Om Gardens. I was running then, and she was running right beside me. It took me a while to get my health and my life together enough to run as reliably as April. I would like to think I’ve made it now. I still get down sometimes, but one thing I learned from April is, it doesn’t matter that sometimes you crash, what matters is that you get the miles in and keep on running.
I got to see her several times over the past few years but I wish I had reached out to her more. She agreed to be on the Board of Directors for the Regeneration Federation that I’ve been trying to start for as long as I’ve known her. Maybe I didn’t reach out because I wanted to share good news, to show that I’d made progress, to make her proud of me. I have been making a lot of progress in the last couple weeks, but now I can’t show her and have her on my team again. It’s ok, I’ll be ok, I’ll just get back up, dust myself off, and keep on going.
In Loving Memory
April Harrington
May 11th, 1970 – February 25th, 2026
April’s memorial service will be on Saturday, March 14th 2026 at 2pm at El Sueno, 501 E Interstate 44 Service Road Oklahoma City. All are welcome.
2 responses to “For April Harrington”
Jacki, I remember those days! I met April the day she decided to be a farmer. I asked her if she knew anything about farming and she said no but she was about to learn. She left to go buy a tractor! It was during those years that I met you Jacki. It was a magical time and anything was possible with April in our corner.
Thank you for sharing this! I remember April from all the years I was in the OK Food Co-op. I’m sorry to hear of her passing.