Chas Edens, Anathoth Community Garden & Farm:
“Rob is here!”, exclaims my four-year old daughter, peering out the window on a cold, foggy morning. It’s a familiar seen in my house, especially during deer season, when Anathoth Community Garden & Farm‘s partnership with Rob Gray and Orange County Outdoors Ministry kicks into high gear. It’s a welcome scene, because when OCOM is on our land, we know that our land, and particularly our veggies, are secure.
From our vantage point, this partnership is a win-win-win:
- OCOM keeps the deer population in balance, preventing them from destroying the veggies we grow and distribute;
- Our members, who receive those veggies, enjoy the lean, delicious venison that is harvested when we distribute it to them a couple of times each season; and
- Our farm is a place for OCOM to invite others to commune with God in creation in a way that we are not able to offer ourselves.
After three years of partnering with OCOM, I would highly recommend them to any ministry or landowner who is also looking for a win-win-win.
As someone once told me, in this neck of the woods, it’s not a matter of IF but WHO is going to be hunting your land. Why not allow someone like OCOM, who is reverent, respectful, and safe?