North America’s 50 Best Restaurants names Champions of Change Award winner from Barbados for 2026
This award recognises individuals driving impactful change and advancing lasting progress across North America’s food and hospitality landscape
North America’s 50 Best Restaurants, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, has announced John Jones — known as The Bajan Farmer — as the recipient of the Champions of Change Award 2026, sponsored by illycaffè. This award recognises and celebrates unsung heroes within the hospitality sector who are driving meaningful action in their communities and creating blueprints for a more inclusive and sustainable future. The accolade includes a financial donation, which will significantly support and expand the impactful work Jones continues to lead.
Since acquiring Thirteen Acre Farms in Barbados in 2022, Jones has focused on reducing the nation’s heavy reliance on imported food. By cultivating crops such as sweet potatoes, watermelon, and broccoli — a vegetable which was previously imported into Barbados — on home soil alongside other produce typically sourced from abroad, he is working to lower the country’s food import bill while strengthening local food security. Looking beyond Barbados, Jones also hopes to establish farms across Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nations in support of regional efforts to reduce food imports.
A former collegiate basketball player and Illinois State University graduate with a BS in Agribusiness, Jones applies a global outlook to his leadership in community-based agriculture. In 2023, he received the Prime Minister’s Youth Award for Innovation and Philanthropy in Barbados in recognition of his contributions to agriculture and social development. In January 2026, he was appointed to the Inter-American Development Bank BOLD Catalyst Board with Barbados Country Office, where he collaborates with fellow leaders to provide insight and perspective supporting the 2025–2030 Country Strategy in Barbados. His participation reflects his commitment to advancing Barbados’ growth potential, with his work at Thirteen Acre Farms serving as a meaningful driver of national development. Passionate about strengthening local food systems, Jones has spent years delivering hands-on agricultural training to both youth and adults, inspiring a new generation to view farming as a viable, sustainable, and empowering career path.