GREENFIELD — In the eyes of Greenfield’s Jonathan Lawler, there is a desperate need for the modern American farmer to return to his roots: Lifting up your neighbors and helping your community first.
Now, Lawler is votes away from winning a contest celebrating his farm’s charitable efforts in combating hunger in Hancock County and beyond.
If he wins, a community donation of $10,000 will be awarded to the Eastern Hancock school sports program, as well as a free trip to Lucas Oil Stadium.
Lawler was selected as a top-10 finalist in the second annual Power to Do More contest, sponsored by Resicore corn herbicide from Corteva Agriscience, said project manager Lyndsie Kaehler.
The Power to Do More contest is a competition held by Resicore to showcase the impact that family farms can have on their communities. The organization asks farmers from across the Midwest to submit a photo representing the power of their their farming operation, Kaehler said.
The top 10 finalists will be put to a vote, with the top three winners receiving a $10,000 donation to a community organization of their choice and a free trip to their dream sports field.
Lawler made the top 10 list after being selected from nearly 200 applicants, Kaehler said.
“It goes to show that America’s farming communities have great stories to tell,” she said.
A charitable operation
Lawler and his family planted approximately 80,000 tomato plants last summer on Brandywine Creek Farms, he said. They also grow tens of thousands of peppers, cucumbers, watermelon and zucchini.
Since the Lawlers moved to Eastern Hancock in 2012, the family’s farm operation is guided by the rule of thirds, Lawler said: One third of the food they grow is donated, one third is sold retail and one third is sold wholesale.
Last season alone, Lawler and his family donated more than 560,000 pounds of produce to food deserts around central Indiana. The crops they sell are priced at an affordable range to accommodate for low-income families, he said.
Their faith-based values guide their mission to provide to hungry families living in these nearby food deserts, which actually can be found in the state’s larger cities and rural areas alike, said Lawler’s wife, Amanda.
More than half of families living in Indianapolis are classified by the federal government as ALICE households —Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. These are households that are above the poverty line, but cannot afford basic cost of living; they are essentially one paycheck away from poverty, she said.
Knowing this, Lawler said they often become frustrated by the misdirected good intentions of people who donate exclusively to charities that benefit impoverished nations overseas.
“There are people screaming for help in your backyard,” Lawler said. “They’re here. If you want to see your impact, you can see it by making sure your charitable dollars are given local.”
Lawler hopes his farm serves as an example to others across the United States as a way the agricultural industry can address food insecurity in a meaningful way, by means of affordable access. Lawler would love to eventually see the nonprofit wing of their farm out of business because it would indicate that they’re effectively doing their job and helping their neighbors, he added.
“Eastern Hancock is still a farming community,” Lawler said. “It’s awesome that it’s the power of farms that gives us the ability to do this.”
Paying it forward
Virtually all of Lawler’s staff is affiliated with Eastern Hancock’s school sports program, Lawler said. His sons, Elijah and Gabe, both play football for the high school, and several of their teammates also work for Lawler as full-time employees.
The biggest complaint of large-scale diversified crop growers is that they can’t find good help, Lawler said. But he was able to find the exception when he started recruiting from Eastern Hancock’s football and baseball teams.
Eastern Hancock sports helped craft physically fit and hardworking employees that have benefited Brandywine Creek Farms in a myriad of ways, Lawler said.
When they’re not at school or on the practice field, these players are working full-time on the family’s farm, tilling, planting, stalking tomatoes and taking care of the cows, pigs and chickens.
It gets a little tough in the hotter months, said Dylan Grose, a Royals defensive lineman. During the summer, the players will spend hours in conditioning practices and follow it up with manual labor in the toasty sun.
It’s hard but rewarding work, Grose said.
When the family found out about the Power to Do more competition, Lawler immediately thought to Eastern Hancock’s sports program after hearing his farmhands voice their concerns about the school’s dated jerseys and football pads. Thinking the school’s teams may be overdue for some new athletic equipment, he hopes he’ll be able to give back to the program for what it has given to him over the years.
The possibility of winning a competition that would benefit the Royals program is an exciting opportunity, Grose said. The players are pumped up by the prospect of new uniforms, equipment and maybe even more teammates, he added.
The visit to Lucas Oil — a free trip to explore the home of the Indianapolis Colts — is an added bonus, Lawler said. If he wins, he hopes some of his farm hands are allowed to come along for the ride.
For Brandywine Creek Farms and the Eastern Hancock school sports program to win the competition, visitors can vote daily and share the voting website — PowerToDoMore.com. Voting ends Sunday and winners will be notified in May, Kaehler said.
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Your vote matters in helping Jonathan Lawler win the Power To Do More competition and earn $10,000 to help Brandywine Creek Farms and the Eastern Hancock school sports program to win the competition.
To help, you can vote daily through Sunday at PowerToDoMore.com
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