Three Gardens That Give Back
Health, hope, jobs, and life skills spring from patches of green
Cul2vate: Growing Food and People
"Cultivate” can be defined as to raise crops, to foster growth and to encourage. Cul2vate Farm beautifully and appropriately epitomizes all of these definitions in a way that benefits the community, staff, land and volunteers. Executive director Joey Lankford explains, “We grow food to feed the hungry, and we grow people who need a fresh start or a second chance.”
Located on the Ellington Agricultural Center, Cul2vate hires “Cul2vators” who are people dealing with divorce, addiction, prison and physical and mental health, as well as people burnt out by a culture of production and convenience who want to learn agriculture and give back to a community. Cul2vators apply for a 6-month paid program where they work on the farm for a variety of needs depending on their skills and interests.
Adam Harper, a former Cul2vator and now part of the group's leadership, shares, “We have Cul2vators who are homeless, living in recovery houses and Men of Valor (a Nashville prison ministry program). We are budgeted for 15 Cul2vators this year and growing. We are planning to grow 250,000 pounds of food this year and one million pounds of food by 2027.”
Food is donated to areas and organizations suffering from food insecurity and sold with a mission that “for every pound sold, a pound of food is donated.” Locals and visitors can support Cul2vate by volunteering at the farm, buying food at the farm store and the Crieve Hall farmers market (Thursdays 4:30–7 p.m.), visiting the farm on u-pick days or attending the October 3 fundraiser “Fellowship on the Farm,” a seven-course fireside meal.
The team is currently working on bee hives, greenhouses, forestry and growing berries, vegetable crops and orchards. Truly, if a Cul2vator has a desire to do or create something that works with the mission, they will make it happen. One alumni created a 3.1-mile trail around the property called Roger’s Walk, which is open to the public. Along the walk, you can stop and talk to Cul2vators working in the field, visit the farm store and explore the land.
The farm is growing. They are currently redeveloping a CSA, finishing construction on a commercial kitchen to expand the farm store and creating more microfarms throughout the community.
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