Every Harvest Tells a Story.

My name is Maiya Lay. I grew up in a largely immigrant community right here in Prince George's County — about five miles from where this farm now stands. My family arrived in the United States as refugees from Cambodia, and this corner of Maryland is where they put down roots. Our neighbors came from El Salvador, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Jamaica, Guyana, Pakistan, the Dominican Republic — nearly every part of the world was represented on our block. And the thing that connected us all, across every language and cultural difference, was food.
 

I remember my father turning our entire backyard into a garden. He grew Cambodian vegetables and herbs alongside tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. Being in that garden brought him peace — a kind of healing that didn't need translation. At the peak of summer, we'd knock on neighbors' doors and offer whatever we'd grown. Despite every barrier between us, that garden built community.
 

My path wound through a lot of places before it led here — my parents' convenience store, restaurant kitchens, bartending on U Street. But at the core of every chapter was the same drive: caring for people, and caring for the world we share. In 2022, that drive became Love Bug Farm.