Connecting Farms and Families

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SCRIPT:

(Locator: Nashville, Tenn.)

“You want to see what’s in there? (Dad opening his box with little girl) “Look and see if there’s a strawberry in there. There’s strawberries. You want one?”

Gail Brandau looks forward to this weekly delivery.

Alexander Brandau/Member, Edgehill United Methodist Church: “She’s only 3 years old, but she fights over broccoli… ‘I want broccoli, I want squash’ because she can taste the real flavors… (little girl interrupts) ‘I like squash.’ You do like squash. See?”

The family buys a share of produce from a Tennessee farmer’s co-op because Brandau wants his children to think beyond the grocery store.

(Little girl holding a green bean) “Where do the vegetables come from baby? The farmer.”

Two years ago, families at Edgehill United Methodist Church in Nashville decided they wanted to be better stewards of the earth by partnering with farmers like Tim Bodnar.

Tim Bodnar/Avalon Acres Community Farm: “I think people go to the store and everything is pre-prepared, TV dinners … and it comes in boil-in-bag pouches and I think there is a certain magic that occurs when you stay hooked to the cycle of the earth.”

The Rev. Judy Hoffman/Pastor, Edgehill United Methodist Church: “We can tell how things are going for the farmers by looking at the yield that is within the box-- because if it’s been a particularly good week there are more things, and when it’s been tougher there are fewer things. We share the difficulty and the blessings that the farmer goes through.”

(Going through the box) “This is strange. It looks like some kind of beet.”

Customers say there’s more in these boxes than a connection to the earth. There’s the connection you get discovering new foods or shucking corn with your children.

Jeanie Rutland/ Member, Belmont United Methodist Church: “We just use it as family time. And they eat stuff that they probably wouldn’t eat and I wouldn’t buy.”

(Girl eating a cucumber) “I like fruits. I don’t like green vegetables but this is okay. ”

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This community-sponsored farm program has grown from just 30 church families two years ago to more than 400 partner families at several churches and businesses.

For more information on Avalon Acres and community-supported agriculture programs, contact: Edgehill United Methodist Church at 615-254-7628 or Avalon Acres at 931-628-2476.

Also, see: Church supports farmers co-op as act of stewardship