Zorra Farmer to Start Charity Garden

Thursday, 25 February 2021 05:39

Jeff King of Zorra Township is looking to start a charity garden for local families in need.

ZORRA TOWNSHIP - A micro farmer from Zorra Township is looking to help local families during the pandemic.

Jeff King describes himself as a farmer and stay at home dad and he plans to grow a charity garden to help local families who might be struggling with the bills these days.

"We are seeing prices increase and grocery bills are incredibly high. I enjoy growing food, so if I can do something I enjoy and help other people at the same time."

King is crowdfunding to help cover some of his expenses and Thunderstruck Ag has agreed to sponsor him with this endeavour.

"I'm using some crowdfunding to help cover some expenses with the infrastructure required, that way I can use that to donate this food to young families who are struggling because of COVID-19 restrictions on workplaces."

King has sold his produce using a road sign stand for a couple of years now. He plans to take applications soon to make sure the food is going to families who need it.

"If I can cover most of or part of their food bill every month, than that money can go towards other bills and help east the weight off their shoulders and carry on without feeling like they are on a downward spiral during a pandemic."

He says the community response has been overwhelming. King has already started the process with the garden.

"I want to stick with what most people would consider a staple food, things that can easily go into recipes. Tomatoes are going to be large, before this, I was planning on growing a lot of tomatoes for people who like to can and preserve them. I'm going to grow cucumbers, lettuce, Ontario garlic, some common herbs like basil and parsley. It will be crops that you can make an easy meal out of and will not take a lot of culinary skills as well."

You can follow Jeff on YouTube with his rural dad page where he shares gardening tips and will have some recipes too for the food he is growing.

People can donate to the charity garden on his GoFundMe page and also keep up to date with him on his social media pages for his farm which is called Hightower Acres.