Victory Acres CSA

As a Christian, I am a steward. Everything that I have has been given to me by God. I will give an account one day for how I use those resources. That includes not just my finances but also my home, my family, my health, and my world. Every aspect of life is part of stewardship.

In light of that, how we live really matters. Health is a large part of our lives. If we are healthy, we are better able to fulfill God’s purposes for us. Many factors affect our health over which we have no control. However, there is one big area that we do control. The old adage, “You are what you eat,” is the truth. Many Christians go to great lengths to avoid alcohol, tobacco, and drugs because of their harmful effects; however, those same people think nothing of consuming large amounts of grossly unhealthy foods – the effect of which are every bit as deadly.

Healthy eating starts with making healthy food choices. Buying more fruits and vegetables translates into eating more of them (and a healthier diet.) If junk food is all you buy, then that’s all you’ll eat. However, many times the people who need healthy foods most find them least available. In our inner-city neighborhood, there are only convenience stores, and without a vehicle or a bus trip, healthy foods are not readily available.

CSA’s are a great way to get access to high quality healthy foods. Because members share in the risk and reward of the farm, they generally get more produce for their money than they would at the grocery store, and they also get a more nutritionally-dense product. With no chemicals killing off all of the “good guys” along with the “bad guys,” the fertility of the ground is fully developed. Healthy ground produces healthy plants, and healthy plants produce healthy fruits and vegetables. By caring for the land that cares for us, we all reap the benefits. Victory Acres CSA delivers certified naturally grown food to our inner city neighborhood, and I am a proud, charter member.

One criticism of many CSA’s nation-wide is that they are for elitists. Most people cannot afford to purchase all of their vegetables for the season at one time, and as a result they are excluded. Victory Acres is different. We have a core belief in sustainability as well as justice. For the third year in a row, quality, naturally-grown fruits and vegetables will be available to our low income neighbors through our “Share a Share” program. Neighbors that could not otherwise afford a membership in our CSA are sponsored through donations from people like you. They will receive produce throughout the year as well as an opportunity to participate in the activities of the farm. Relationships are built, and the food that they receive is a huge blessing.

We have relationships at Victory Inner-city Ministries that mean a lot to us. We don’t just think that “their children” should be eating a can of sodium-laced soup while “our children” are eating healthy, fresh produce from the farm. While we understand that those cans of soup could be life-saving to some, we believe that there is a better way. We are seeking that better way, a way of relationships, a way where we truly love our neighbor as ourselves, and a way that reveals the wisdom of Christ to the world.

You can learn a lot of life lessons playing Monopoly. I had one of those Monopoly moments recently. Through a series of unfortunate events, I found myself forced to sell off piece after piece of property until I had lost all of my land and my earning power. I was forced into an untimely bankruptcy. As the game ended for me, I couldn’t help but think of my inner city neighbors here in Indianapolis. Many keep passing go and collecting their $200 (so to speak), but they have no land, no skills, and therefore, few opportunities.

If you have land, you have opportunity. You can grow something, graze something, dig something, or build something. Your care for that place is a trust, a mutually beneficial relationship. You care for the land, and the land will care for you. When I think about the 114 acres where I grew up (now known as Victory Acres,) this all becomes very personal to me. All told, the land was in our family for over six generations. My great-great grandfather built the house where my grandfather lived and my father was raised. All my growing up took place on that land. It is here that my roots run deep. I know other places, but I know no other place so well. There is something spiritual and profoundly wonderful about caring for people and a place.

While attending Union Bible College, in 1998 I did an internship in inner city St. Louis. I began to get my eyes open to the needs of the inner city. In 2000, I founded Victory Inner-city Ministries (VICM.) We started out meeting around picnic benches in a inner city park with homeless neighbors, drug addicts, and anyone else who wanted to join us. From that beginning, has grown a diverse community of faith, a few renovated houses, and whole lot of good. Seeing the need for a place outside the city to work with people, in 2006, VICM purchased the farm on contract from my Grandparents.

We started out with Community Supported Agriculture as a way to make the payments. It was a steep learning curve. We went from not knowing what a CSA was in January to running one in April! We have learned much in these past four growing seasons, and our family of CSA members has grown exponentially. But the work that we envisioned when we started Victory Acres included more than growing good food. It involved making a difference in the lives of the inner city people with whom we at VICM share life. We envision Victory Acres offering many, including our inner city neighbors, a chance to “own an opportunity” that might never otherwise exist. Instead of allowing the farm with all of its resources to exist in rural isolation, we have purposefully partnered with people like you and with an urban place, the near-eastside of Indianapolis. This past summer, Victory Acres was home to a 15 year old young man from our eastside urban neighborhood. His coming to the farm was a dual blessing; he was a help to the farm as it was a help to him. He learned lessons he will never forget working together with people who cared and who will never forget him. It was an important step in William’s life.

At times I catch glimpses of the importance of the work that is going on here. While we have a long way to go, we know where we’re headed. There is a need for a place like Victory Acres, a good piece of land, a connection to all that is hardworking and holy. We need it to balance us, to remind us of the One who provides our daily bread. Our inner city especially needs a place like this, abounding in country hospitality, surrounded by people who love God and have a sense of place and purpose to show a better way. Out of the farm’s capacity of hearth and home are a hundred joys and graces that may be shared with all who come, stranger and friends alike. By God’s Grace in the years ahead, Victory Acres will not only grow some really great food, but it will also be a place of help, healing, and wholeness for countless individuals like William.

We hope you have enjoyed your vegetables this past summer, but we want you to know that you’ve done much more than get some good food at a good price. You have been partners with us in the development of the larger work of helping people like William. While we have a long way to go in developing that larger work, we are on the journey. We want you to know that we value your continued participation as a member of Victory Acres CSA, and we appreciate your suggestions, your volunteering, and your donations. We couldn’t do it without you. Thanks for being a part! We hope that ours will be a long and prosperous relationship.

From the city,

Eric Himelick

Executive Director