Adopt-A-Farm Provides Nutritious Produce to Food Insecure

In a time when obesity and diabetes are on the rise, and more and more people are becoming aware of what goes into their foods, local farmers are working rigorously in order to provide fresh, seasonal produce year-round to their local communities. Unfortunately, not all can afford farmer’s market prices week to week, and must rely on other sources for their food. This leads to “food” choices that are cheaper, but can be stretched to feed their families. The Hays County Food Bank is working with local farmers in order to remedy this.

In the summer of 2014, the Hays County Food Bank launched the Adopt-A-Farm program. The Food Bank provides a group of volunteers interested in gardening or farming to local farmers, and in return the farms provide free produce for the Food Bank’s clients.

Currently, the Hays County Food Bank works with two local farms: Gray Gardens in Buda and Millberg Farms in Kyle. Every Wednesday and Friday mornings, volunteers journey from the Food Bank to the farms where they plant, harvest, wash, water, weed, and do whatever is necessary to help the farmers out. In return, the volunteers gain gardening skills and knowledge, and the Food Bank receives even more fresh, seasonal produce to distribute to the food insecure in the county.

Gray Gardens is the most visible farm in Buda. Owner Billy Gray has been farming since he was a small child at his grandmother’s. He has always had a farm, but it started out as a hobby and as a way to have a supply of fresh produce. Six years ago, the president of the Buda Farmer’s Market asked Billy (Buda Mayor at that time) if he would like to sell his fresh produce at the farmer’s market. From then on, Gray Gardens became a local producer and seller of fresh, seasonal produce. There are a handful of full-time people that run the garden. They live and work on the farm and rely heavily on volunteers to help them out. When asked about how much they depend on volunteers, Jonas Jones said, “Volunteers help turn 16 hours a day, 7 days a week into 10 hours a day, but it’s more enjoyable.”

Three years ago, Jonas started to work for Gray Gardens. He brought his experience and knowledge from working with other farms to Gray’s. The farm now runs a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, where families and individuals can purchase their share of produce for the entire season. Produce also gets distributed to a few restaurants in Austin, is sold at five different local farmer’s markets, and they sell it online for an office building.

Nick Leonard began working for Gray Gardens a year ago. He went from an employee at HEB to working and living full-time on the farm. While working at HEB, he noticed that there wasn’t enough fresh produce from HEB’s daily food donation getting to the people who need it. He now is able to educate people on the benefits of growing and eating fresh food, and he is able to donate that fresh food and feel good about what he gives.

Millberg Farms is the other local farm involved in the Adopt-A-Farm program. Tim Miller runs the farm himself, and has been a certified organic farmer in Kyle since 1989. He provides CSA bags to individuals and families throughout Hays County, and even delivers these bags himself. He also sells to local stores and farmer’s markets.

Both of these farms provide free seasonal produce to clients of the Hays County Food Bank, but require help in order to do so. If you are committed to helping out your neighbors in need and enjoy working in the outdoors, please call Holly Hood at (512) 392-8300 x222. 2-3 volunteers are needed at Millberg Farms on Wednesdays from 8:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m., and you will need to provide your own transportation to the farm. Millberg Farms is located at 737 Opal Lane in Kyle.

4-5 volunteers are needed at Gray Garden on Fridays from 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., and transportation will be provided. You can also drive yourself to the farm, located at 767 Main Street in Buda. Please wear clothing suitable for working outdoors and bring sunscreen. Hats are also suggested to be worn.

Get the chance to learn valuable gardening skills, work with the earth, and give back to your fellow man. April is National Gardening Month, and it is a great time to get involved in this fun and enlightening volunteering experience. If you have a group of friends that would like to commit weekly, that’s even better. Hope to see you there!