Veterans Healing Farm seeks to grow one ton of food for local charity

Photo courtesy of Veterans Healing Farm

Veterans Healing Farm, a 10-acre farmstead in Hendersonville, added a donation garden to its land this season and is well on track to make an impact in the local war on hunger. The farm, owned by John and Nicole Mahshie, was founded to give returning veterans a therapeutic outlet for emotional recovery and to address the high rate of veteran suicide and depression by providing a pathway for reintegration into civilian life.

Last year, the farm was awarded a $30,000 grant from the Entrepreneurial Bootcamp for Veterans in South Carolina, allowing it to attain nonprofit status. In addition to the donation garden, VHF includes a CSA where veterans and civilians grow food together, as well as shipping container dormitories and permaculture experiments.

For more on Xpress‘ coverage of VHF, click here. See the full release from VHF below.

From Veterans Healing Farm

Press Release

V​eterans Healing Farm,​a non-profit farm located just five miles from downtown Hendersonville, is on track to meet their goal of donating 2,240 pounds – one ton of food to I​nterfaith Assistance Ministry​in Hendersonville by October this year.

Veterans Healing Farm has already donated 1,573 pounds of fresh produce, including bell peppers, cucumbers, melons, butternut squash, green beans, okra and eggplant, this summer.

Veterans Healing Farm’s mission is to aid veterans reintegrating into civilian life by growing produce, raising farm animals and conducting seminars on holistic health and sustainability. By “cultivating life through community”, Veterans Healing Farm has fostered a thriving micro-community of veterans and civilians who implement innovative and sustainable farming techniques, build deep friendships, and help cultivate emotional, physical and spiritual health.

In addition to community farm memberships, where members learn about holistic sustainability and horticulture in addition to receiving fresh produce, Veterans Healing Farm maintains a donation garden to help address the issue of food insecurity in Western North Carolina. The donation garden allows veterans to keep serving their community after finishing military service.

“This is the first year we’ve grown food for donation, and we’re really excited about providing this fresh produce to IAM. It’s been a really great way to connect with the local community and everyone who helps us at the farm feels great about giving back.” – Nicole Mahshie, Administrative Coordinator for Veterans Healing Farm

For more information about Veterans Healing Farm, please visit veteranshealingfarm.org.​

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About Carrie Eidson
Multimedia journalist and Green Scene editor at Mountain Xpress. Part-time Twitterer @mxenv but also reachable at ceidson@mountainx.com. Follow me @carrieeidson

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