Three summers ago we lived in the city, had a backyard garden, and sought

exercise through our YMCA membership.  It was a healthful lifestyle, as far as we could tell.  However, an educational visit to a local organic farm changed everything for this family of five.  

That same summer, my kids and I participated in a science treasure hunt in which we aimed to visit area museums and places of interest.  One of these places was The Land Connection’s demonstration farm near Carlock.  Terra Brockman, founding director of this non-profit organization, gave a group of us a tour of the farm and invited us to visit her brother Henry’s farm just down the road.  As we shared lunch together afterwards, Terra began to expose some truths about food that few of us had ever pondered before.  

I had never been told that most of the potatoes used to make french fries, just like the ones the kids and I frequently ordered from drivethru’s, were genetically modified.  I had known little about the environmental hazards of pesticide use.  I hadn’t realized the nutritional benefits of eating foods picked just hours prior.  The clincher, however, came when Terra emphasized serious concern about so few Illinois farmers using sustainable methods to grow foods for their local populations.  It was a watershed moment. 

If our three kids hadn’t been with me and heard and understood all that Terra was telling us, the “wow” of the experience would’ve worn off within days.  Instead, the kids were ready to take up their arms.  We made a pact to eat fries and burgers no more.  There was a renewed interest in helping me harvest from the backyard garden and in planning our evening meal around those foods.  My oldest chose to study environmental science through online education the next semester.  The family decided to decrease or eliminate our consumption of meat.  We bought 20 acres of land and signed up for Farm Beginnings.  I guess you might say we don’t do anything half-heartedly.   

That next fall and winter as Farm Beginnings students, my husband and I spent many hours driving through rainstorms and along snowy country roads late at night, returning home from workshops.  We attended sessions on writing up a business plan and understanding local public health department ordinances.  We put up a modular home on the land and planted our first crops.  Throughout all this, we began to formulate a plan for sustainability.  We didn’t want to lose all that we were investing in this lifestyle change. 

It was then that we realized one of the most valuable assets to farms throughout generations:  children.  The greatest hope for long-term development and sustainability of our farm and lifestyle was to involve our children in all aspects of the decision-making and the work.  In so doing, we hoped to perpetuate the vision into the next generation. 

Appleton Hollow Family Garden Foods is now in its second year of production.  The foods grown at Appleton Hollow are the favorites chosen by each member of the family.  The work responsibilities are divided according to the strengths of each member.  And the bounty (especially when it comes to raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries!) is enjoyed by all. 

Our farm isn’t a large farm.  It certainly isn’t attractive.  It doesn’t produce the best looking vegetables in the world.  And it doesn’t bring in enough income yet for my husband to quit his day job.  Nevertheless, this farm is raising this family – all five of us – through its life lessons, its battles with Mother Nature, its sometimes stubborn animals, its dependence upon the surrounding ecosystem, and its infinite supply of rewards offered to those who care for it.