Farm Family Raises Vegetables For Local Food Banks

Farm Family Raises Vegetables For Local Food Banks FARM HOME Food When Jonathan Lawler learned from his son that children at his rural Indiana school relied on food from the local food pantry he decided he needed to do something He switched his 36-acre farm from raising vegetables for the wholesale market to raising food for Central Indiana food banks Brandywine Creek Farms is a nonprofit organization created under the umbrella of Project 23:22 which refers to a Book of Leviticus verse about leaving food for the poor when harvesting Thanks to local publicity Lawler and his family have received financial help and sponsorships from supporters such as Park Chapel Church and Hancock Regional Hospital to help cover expenses NASCAR racer Richard Petty has come on board with a fundraiser and there will be a Farm to Table benefit dinner in September Lawler grows 6 000 tomato and 6 000 cucumber plants eight acres of beans plus peppers onions zucchini sweet corn and watermelons Tractors pull 7-ft tillers and implements that lay mulch and drip irrigation systems “It’s a small footprint but our goal is to grow 20 000 lbs of food off every acre ” Lawler says Volunteers who help with the labor-intensive operation – planting weeding harvesting – come from a variety of sources Lawler appreciates retired farmers who know how to fix tractors and equipment as well as individuals who just want to help Able-bodied residents who use the county’s food shelves are required to put in so many hours Agencies send at-risk youth to help out and Lawler is working with a military advisor to set up a Veterans farm project Eventually he hopes to help them start their own operations Food shelves and organizations such as the Midwest Food Bank place orders for the amount of food they need and bring trucks to the Greenfield Ind farm Because it is fresh the food has a longer shelf life than the expired produce typically donated from stores The Lawlers grow vegetables that are most popular with food shelf clients But they realize that education is also important to teach people how to prepare and preserve produce Lawler says his wife Amanda and members of their church plan to go to areas where the vegetables are distributed to offer classes It’s also been a step in faith “We have big plans to change the food landscape in Indiana ” Lawler says “We want to make food very affordable or free to people who need it We are trying to get other farmers on board – you can never sell everything at farmers markets ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Brandywine Creek Farms 5332 North 400 East Greenfield Ind 46140 ph 317 246-8640; www brandywinecreekfarms org; jlawler@brandywinecreekfarms org

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