PHILIPSBURG — For years the YMCA of Centre County has worked to fight food insecurity and hunger in the area.
As food prices continue to rise, a new joint effort of the YMCA and CenClear is teaching children and families how to grow their own food on The Farm.
“The old saying goes, teach a child to hunt and fish, and they have food for a lifetime. Our goal is to add fresh fruits and vegetable as part of that saying,” said Anti-Hunger Program Director Mel Curtis when discussing the new student-involvement initiative. “It is a way to get people involved and create their own food chain.”
The YMCA had already been growing some of its own food in smaller greenhouse gardens to support its anti-hunger efforts. When a friend from CenClear suggested the potential use of the 400-acre Morgan Run Farm the nonprofit owns in West Decatur, Clearfield County, Curtis and his team jumped at the opportunity.
“Families are struggling,” Curtis said. “The sad part about it is the people we are seeing who want to get involved in a program like this are the working families, because they are struggling to put food on the table.”
In its inaugural year, The Farm is already playing a vital role in the YMCA’s Anti-Hunger Program, which is seeing inflation and rising prices impacting people throughout nearby communities. Tomatoes, peppers and potatoes are currently thriving on an educational garden trail, which illustrates the growing process to visitors and young learners.
“That food, when we harvest it, will go back into the community through our food distribution programs,” said Curtis.
Symbolic sunflowers have also sprouted, expressing hope for those struggling with mental health issues.
“Sunflowers have many meanings, but they are the flowers of mental health,” said Curtis. “Through COVID, we are starting to see a lot of problems with mental health.”
Just like the plants that grow on The Farm, the YMCA and CenClear are also combining forces to make sure the program becomes a larger resource in the bigger community.
The nonprofits plan to work closely with area school districts to bring students to The Farm to learn gardening as well as about the nutritional value of eating a well-balanced diet with fruits and vegetables. Professors in multiple colleges at Penn State are being asked to encourage participation and internships. The hope is to add a kitchen area where children and families can learn how to prepare the foods the program has grown.
“Ultimately, our goal is, we are going to teach kids and families how to grow food in gardens, how to prepare it once they do harvest it and ultimately to bring the family unit back together again,” Curtis said. “Eventually, we are going have this as a family event center, where a family can come in and if they have an RV, they can bring their RV for the weekend. Our goal is to establish RV sites, tent sites and cabins. We want to do a lot of programming there.”
Other long-term plans for The Farm include a ropes course for team building, an archery field with certified instructor and the addition of farm animals, all with the goal of teaching more skills to children and families.
“Whatever you think of, that you can believe in, can happen at this farm. That is the part that is so attractive about it,” said Curtis.
As The Farm program grows, it will continue to help feed families in the area, which can impact everyone, said Curtis.
“No one ever really likes to say that they are hungry or facing food insecurity, but it can happen so quickly … you know, a loss of job or a major repair for a car or a house,” Curtis said. “That is what people need to realize. If you only need it a few times, great. If you need it longer, we are only here to help. Nobody is going to know anything.”
People who would like to get involved or who are facing food insecurity and are in need of assistance can contact Curtis at (814) 801-0111.
This story appears in the July 28-Aug. 3 edition of The Centre County Gazette.
