Hopeful vision roots at Indian Creek Farm

Sheldon Good, Salford

In 2005, Phil Bergey, former Franconia Conference executive director, had a dream about the future of the Indian Creek Road Farm. In the May/June 2005 issue of MennoLife, Bergey said that in his dream he imagined the 40-acre Harleysville farm “as a place that would unite the daughters and brothers of Franconia Conference instead of tear them apart.”

More recently, Jill Landes, from the Blooming Glen congregation, has lost sleep envisioning Bergey’s dream.

“I get excited just thinking about the farm,” said Landes, who is currently working on a plan to use the Indian Creek Road Farm as space for a ministry to be called Living Hope Farm. “I sometimes can’t sleep at night because of it.”

Landes has a vision for what the farm might become some day, and in many ways, is already becoming. Her vision explores the possibility of what she calls “a non-profit, sustainable, organic, market farm that grows produce for people and profits for ministry.”

Starting this October, Bergey’s dreams – and Landes’ lack of sleep – will come to fruition.

Living Hope Farm will operate on the land as a non-profit ministry and incorporate many topics that are emerging in contemporary culture, according to Landes, including: sustainable agriculture, land stewardship and preservation, job training and a greater understanding of one’s connection and interdependence to land.

Landes believes the farm will help people rediscover their roots. “Today we have a disconnect,” Landes said, in reference to one’s relationship with food. “We buy any vegetable or fruit year round at our local grocery and do not think twice about who grew it, how it was grown or the distance it traveled to the grocery store.”

Living Hope Farm will allow persons to re-root, re-route and get dirty.

The primary function of the farm will be to operate as a non-profit Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). “A CSA is a model of farming that emphasizes locally grown food, supports the local economy and promotes a safe food system,” said Landes, who works at the Bucks County Branch Creek Farm, which produces food for local restaurants and stores.

Persons who purchase memberships in a CSA sign a contract for the season and agree to pay in advance. CSA shareholders then help with some of the work of harvest and distribution of food. They also pick up a share of whatever is available on the farm each week, which guarantees they receive the freshest produce possible. And the food doesn’t travel 1,300 miles as it ripens.

The Living Hope Farm CSA will create a self-sustaining foundation for the ministry, which will incorporate additional ministries without the burden of outside resources.

Landes also plans to connect with an urban area that has limited access to fresh, local, reasonably priced produce. “It is the ministry part of the farm that has me dreaming,” Landis said. “The potential ministries that have surfaced seem to be as numerous as the spokes on a wheel.”

A few possible ministries include:

• agricultural learning opportunities: for the community, with on-site farming classes
• local camp outreach: combining agriculture, creation study, Bible study and personal development
• work for prison inmates or ex-offenders: providing basic work skills in an outdoor setting related to food production
• urban extensions: partnering with Philadelphia church leaders, congregations and/or schools to explore local community food systems.

For Landes, the sky – or the ground – is the limit. “There are any variety of things that might blossom here,” Landes said.

There are no blossoms at the farm yet. But the farm is currently used for a variety of purposes.

A portion of the 40 acres is farmed by the Knechel family, who operate a dairy farm nextdoor. In the center of the property, Mennonite Central Committee Material Resource Center of Harleysville uses a building that was formerly a group home. Indian Creek Foundation, which began at the farm, runs a group home west of the property barn. The land is also used for the annual Apple Butter Frolic, which benefits the Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania. Additionally, the farmhouse is rented out to a family and a single woman.

This is largely how the farm has operated for some time. But in 2005, the conference formed the Vision and Financial Plan team to determine a new future for the farm. Karen Moyer, chair of the Vision and Financial Plan team and member of the subgroup charged with determining the best direction for the farm, said that turning the space into an organic farm was not the only, or first, idea.

“An original option considered,” Moyer said, “was to sell the property when the market value was extremely high to fund mission initiatives for domestic inner-city work and partnering with our southern hemisphere brothers and sisters rather than just ‘hoarding’ the wealth for the conference. [The planning team] heard a mandate from the local conference constituents to apply for a land preservation grant to retain the use of the farm for agriculture.”

In response to this mandate, the conference applied to sell the development rights of the farm. In 2008, the farm was submitted as a candidate but rejected with the Montgomery County Agricultural Land Preservation Board. According to the board, the farm’s eligibility score was not high enough. Such a registration would legally place the land in farming perpetuity and provide governmental funding to Franconia Conference. The conference will continue to pursue the sale of the farm’s development rights.

Ultimately, the Vision and Financial Plan team decided to transform the land into an operable farm. “Since the grant would not generate the same revenue as an outright sale,” Moyer said, “the team also heard a voice of financial support for any agricultural ministries that would come about with this plan for future use of the land.”

Enter, Landes’ version of Bergey’s dream. But there’s plenty of work to be done before Living Hope Farm becomes reality.

Currently, Landes treks to the farm a few times every week, which is unsustainable for the long-term. “Our family would like to reside on or near the farm as the time for growing draws nearer,” Landes said.

Landes is currently testing soil for possible crop locations. Meanwhile, Henry Rosenberger, from the Plains congregation, and others are finalizing a board of directors and pursuing a 501c3 status for the ministry. Living Hope Farm planners also want the organization to become a Conference Related Ministry.

Going forward, Landes and her team can’t do all the work themselves. “I’m hoping people will help out similar to the Care and Share Shoppes,” said Landes, in reference to the thrift store in Souderton. “We will need to count on a few committed volunteers, though this will be a bit different since tasks will change as the seasons change. And as the farm progresses, we will be looking for donations of time, materials and money as well.”

Landes plans to harvest the first crops in May. Persons interested in purchasing a CSA share can sign up starting at the Apple Butter Frolic on October 3. “Families with children are especially encouraged to participate in all that the farm will have to offer,” said Landes, “including a children’s garden, U-pick areas and weekend gatherings for potluck meals.”