Friends & Family!

We cannot even begin to express how grateful we are for all of your support. Your generosity has allowed us to hit our fundraising goal for Carry the Load's Memorial Day March!
Thank you!
We would like to challenge all of you to help us get to $5,000! 
Support Team F.A.R.M.
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It's with your help we have been able to continue our mission of bringing peace, purpose and opportunity through agricultural training to our nation's heroes. We have taken on the  task of cultivating the next generation of farmers to take on their next mission serving their communities by healing America's distressed food system.

Whether you are able to make a monetary donation or not, we encourage all of you to meet us at
Reverchon Park in Dallas on Sunday to bring back the meaning of Memorial Day with us and Carry the Load. Click here for details.

Above all, this Memorial Day, please take moment to show gratitude and honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice- the heroes that have allowed us the freedoms we enjoy today. 

Everyday we will honor our Brothers and Sisters who have gone before us and continue serving those who have served us.

My sincerest gratitude,
Steve Smith 

P.S. If you join Team F.A.R.M.  and create your own personal page to tell your story, funds that you raise will "roll up" to the team total, and you can earn your Load Carrier shirt by raising $200 or more! 
Furthermore, if you donate $50, we will send you our coveted F.A.R.M.     t-shirt. (send your info to [email protected])

Hello F.A.R.M. Family and Friends,

F.A.R.M. has recently accepted the challenge to raise funds in support of Carry The Load. The funds we raise will support Carry The Load's Continuum of Care program. This program helps provide direct services that foster healing of the mind, body, and soul of our nation's heroes. This year, all funds donated to Team F.A.R.M. will come directly back to F.A.R.M.

Donate directly to Team F.A.R.M. or start your own team inside the F.A.R.M. member page -  www.carrytheload.org/goto/farm. 
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With our nations distressed food system, food insecurity, food deserts, and the threat of some SHTF scenario, we should all take full advantage of the smartest thing we could possibly do to avoid a food crisis – grow food.

Since eating is such an important piece of our existence, why wouldn't everybody be growing food? Even living in a small space, patio and container gardening can be a source of fresh food. Microgreens are another easy way to keep a fresh supply of healthy food on hand, all the time. If you live in a home with an actual yard and dirt, you can even grow enough food to supply your family, share with neighbors and sell at the local farmers market.

​Community gardens, farmers markets, urban farms and agrihoods are on an upward trend. Eco-tourism is a thing. Woofers and farm internships are increasingly popular, and more home homeowners are now converting their lawns into edible landscapes. Some cities are even supporting the movement toward converting vacant lots into food forests. All of these are giant steps in the right direction.

But in a real food crisis, are those things enough to sustain the nation’s population of over 320,000,000? Probably not. Would a garden sustain you and a few neighbors? Probably so. The more gardens we have, the more neighbors we can feed in a crisis.

Eighty percent of the U.S. population lives in an urban or metropolitan environment. Compared to the number of residents abiding in the city, we simply do not have enough urban food producing spaces to avert a food crisis scenario. Every apartment complex is a prime candidate to replace grass with food for its residents. Vacant city lots scattered throughout every city are perfect for growing food. Every housing development and subdivision should have a community garden and farm stand at its hub.

Community gardens not only supply healthy fresh food and help combat preventable diseases, they provide a neutral, safe space to cultivate friendships and build stronger communities. In a food crisis, local community gardens would be a lifeline for survival.

Experts agree, gardening is an excellent de-stressor too. It is great exercise, improves physical and mental health, it’s calming for those suffering with anxiety and depression, it helps manage PTSD, and more. So why isn’t there one on every corner in the city? 

A successful community garden involves a lot of work, and teamwork. It is a community project, and must be managed properly by committed members. Educational workshops, cooking and food preparation classes, and volunteer days help to build a team of engaged community partners and gardeners.

The Michigan Urban Farming initiative has proven the positive effects of community gardening and urban farming in Detroit’s North End Neighborhood. MUFI grows and distributes over 50,000 pounds of produce (grown using organic methods) to over 2,000 households within 2-square miles at no cost to the recipients. They do this on a 3-acre vacant lot. Read more . . .

Farmers Assisting Returning Military – FARM, is actively engaged in a similar project in the Farmers Market district of downtown Dallas, TX.  FARM is converting a 2.5-acre asphalt parking lot into an urban farm park, This project not only reclaims asphalt into a green space to grow and distribute food, it is an agricultural learning experience for all who want to learn about growing food.

                    The 3rd Saturday of Every Month

There is always plenty to do on the farm, so we have lots of great volunteer opportunities for individuals, clubs, corporations, etc. Come join us at the F.A.R.M. Urban Park every 3rd Saturday from 9:00 til 3:00 and let's get our farm on.

The F.A.R.M. Park is located in the Farmer's Market District at 700 South Good Latimer Expressway, Dallas, TX.

​Greetings F.A.R.M. Family & Friends!
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2018 was an amazing year for Farmers Assisting Returning Military. The urban farm is coming together nicely, as we reclaim and re-purpose a 2-acre parking lot from asphalt wasteland into a productive urban farming operation to teach farming to veterans, provide education to the public and produce healthy fresh food for the community.
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We could not have accomplished all that we did this past year without our amazing volunteers, veteran participants, and the financial contributions we have received from our generous supporters. We are humbled by the love you all have shown toward the FARM organization and its mission.

We hosted several volunteer days with excellent participation, and we served 32 veterans by providing hands-on workshop experiences, securing property leases, and providing temporary housing with tiny homes.
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As the FARM Park progresses toward a more efficient and productive urban farm, we are rolling out new programs and securing new partnerships in 2019 to increase the number of veterans we can introduce to "dirt therapy."

In our modern food culture, most grocery shopper's attention tends to lean toward pricing, taste and labeling (not necessarily in that order). It's doubtful that many folks would be thinking much about dirt while shopping for the best price on a can of Beef-A-Roni at Kroger.

Be that as it may, nutrition comes from the ground. Healthy soil produces healthy nutritious food. At the downtown Dallas Urban FARM Park, we are building our own soil in what we call a Soil Reclamation and Healing Project.

The FARM Park sits atop a 2-acre asphalt and concrete parking lot at 700 S. Good Latimer Expressway in Dallas. Using donated wood chips, clay, shale and compost, FARM is engineering a thick layer of rich, living soil for growing and teaching others about fresh healthy organic food.

Freedom Day Volunteers

A group of volunteers from Tango Tab came by a few days later, after the soil was mixed and added to one of our growing areas, to help separate and husk our best homegrown organic garlic bulbs for planting while Steve prepared the finished bed.

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​Another year around the sun and North Texas Giving Day is only 6 days away!
Last year, with your help, F.A.R.M. raised $10,000. This year we are upping the challenge in hopes to raise $20,000! Help us make that happen!

 On Tuesday, September 11th, Communities Foundation of Texas hosted its 17th annual Freedom Day, a community service event honoring the lives lost, and those forever changed by the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

This year, 50 volunteers and family members served side-by-side at the FARM Urban Park in downtown Dallas. In recognition of the courage and bravery of the men and women who fight for our freedom, and those first responders who protect us,  we dedicate this day of service to you.

"Thank You!" to all who came out to celebrate this special day of remembrance with your service!  SALUTE!

Steve Smith and Hyiat El-Jundi were the presenters to thirteen participants at the F.A.R.M. Hacks interactive Compost Tea workshop. Attendees got a hands-on demonstration of how to make this magic elixer. Click here for the compost tea recipe that we used in the demonstration.

Karl Falster of Falster Farms was generous in sharing his knowledge and personal experience with us about the benefits of using compost tea on his farm. It was a great workshop! Watch the video below.

To stay in the loop on our upcoming workshops and events, be sure to join our email list and 'Like' us on Facebook @farmingveterans.