By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com
Tad Fannin thinks a lot of things can be raised in a healthy garden, including money to help developing countries become more self-sufficient when it comes to feeding themselves.
The 2010 Bucyrus High School graduate is helping to spearhead Gardens Reaching Others Worldwide, or GROW, which works through the auspices of Food Resource Bank.
“Agriculture is basically used as he fundraiser here,” Fannin said. “Last year we had vegetable gardens and sweet corn. We supported a project in Armenia that is an animal husbandry project.”
Fannin said the Foods Resource Bank supports several projects and has 15 different church denominations working under its umbrella.
“Really, it’s a missions organization,” Fannin said. “Their motto is, ‘A Christian response to world hunger.”
The concept is to tap into this nation’s rich agriculture and ability to grow food, sell that food and then use the money to develop agriculture programs overseas.
“We hope to see benefit here locally and we did some last year,” Fannin said. “We did a very small plot at the Wynford school garden. At the Church of the Nazarene there’s a pretty sizable community garden.”
The local group known as GROW has several goals it believes will help its’ ministry literally grow, including doubling the size of its garden space at the Nazarene church.
“Two main things, first for people who want to volunteer to help with the gardens,” Fannin said. “The other is to find farmers who would be willing to set aside a few acres for us to plant gardens.”
But perhaps the biggest goal of all is to find a venue in which to sell the food they grow.
“Also we need to create a brand here,” Fannin said. We’re possibly looking for a local restaurant to sell vegetables to or create a farmers’ market.”
Fannin said in addition to helping work gardens, the group would be very happy to accept donations of food from those who already have their own home gardens.
To learn more about GROW and the opportunities to volunteer or help the organization, go to Gardens Reaching Others Worldwide Facebook page, or contact Fannin at 419-569-5265.