ROCKFORD, Mich — The harvest at one farm in Rockford cannot be measured simply by its produce.
New Growth Project, a nonprofit market farm, prides itself on growing vegetables and growing people.
Launched in 2021, the operation cultivates job opportunities for people with disabilities.
"It's a wide variety of job opportunities here, which is what we love about having a farm because there are so many jobs to do. It allows us to meet individuals where they're at and help them grow in their job skills and their confidence," explained Christine O'Driscoll, Co-founder of New Growth Project. "An employee can experience planting seeds, transplanting plants, weeding, harvesting, washing, packing, handcrafting our soaps and candles, packing boxes."
O'Driscoll told FOX 17 News that parenting a child with special needs planted the seeds to make a difference.
"It's a personal story for me, because my oldest daughter also struggled to find and maintain work, not for lack of effort or trying, but she just really needed some support on the job," she explained. "She was our first employee."
Right now as many as nine people are employed at the farm.
While the work is mainly seasonal, this is also a busy time packing holiday gift boxes of handcrafted items like soap and candles.
"We took our belief in what we do here at the farm of chemical-free produce, and also use that in our products with organic essential oils and very clean fragrance," explained Carly VanDuinen, New Growth Project Co-founder. "Our first year we employed from like mid-April to maybe mid-October. Then each year we've been able to expand that."
As employees gain new skills, they also find purpose and a sense of belonging.
VanDuinen said the hope is to grow the jobs to year-round eventually.
"You know, we look back at the first year and think, wow, we grew fast and like, how did we get here?," VanDuinen said. "Growth is something we see here every day, and we're really excited to see, especially this season, how much growth each of our employees here have taken with them to their lives.
New Growth Project is one of the nonprofits included in the inaugural GR Giving Day- a philanthropic push to raise $250,000 to benefit 50 women-led, grassroots, and/or innovative nonprofits.
To learn more about the New Growth Project, click here.
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