MELBOURNE, Ky. — It used to be nothing but a hay field.
Now, in the small town of Melbourne — just outside Cold Spring — there are peach trees, pears trees and rhubarb plants. On Tuesday morning, volunteers picked 834 pounds of produce.
This season, the farm’s owners expect to grow more than 15,000 pounds of fresh food. But they aren’t selling any of it. They’re giving it away to local food pantries.
“It’s a long story,” said Doug Bray, the farm’s owner.
More than a decade ago, Bray said he saw people struggling. He saw food being wasted. His story, he said, started after a trip to the food bank carrying extra vegetables from a farm just like this.
“People were turning around who had already picked up canned goods,” Bray said. “They turned around to get the fresh product.”
In 2011, he and his wife turned this summer home into what he calls The Giving Fields.
And now, he sees a community coming together. To grow the kind of food you can't always find at a food pantry. The Giving Fields runs on volunteers, donations and sponsors. Some people pay to rent space in the garden.
Bob Hassman and his wife do just that.
“I love tomatoes, I love fresh greens,” Hassman said. “And we can’t grow them at our house because the deer eat everything.”
On Tuesday, he picked a purple tomato. Then, he laughed. He joked that all he eats anymore are tomatoes. Hassman was sweating, just like the other dozen or so volunteers. They don’t mind.
“I’m having so much fun I’m out here three or four days a week,” Hassman said.
On this day, he and his wife also drove boxes of produce to Be Concerned in Covington, where the pantry’s executive director said they spend more than $100,000 on food each year.
“The need for food, especially fresh food, is soaring higher than it's ever been,” Andy Brunsman said.
Brunsman said the need is even higher than it was during the pandemic.
Back at the farm, La Soupe is there to pick up food. Last year, the organization served 1.4 million meals.
"And it's programs like this that really help us to deliver that large number,” said Jared Beckman, shipping and receiving manager for La Soupe.
That’s why they call it “The Giving Fields.”
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For more information about The Giving Fields, including how you can get involved, visit their website at https://www.givingfieldsky.com/
