Paul Colletti
Sharon Dettmann, left, and Louise Johnson joined other vendors at the Harvest of Hope market Nov. 10 at Zion Lutheran Church in Davenport. The event was organized by CCLP Iowa coordinator Jim Earles, center. More photos from this shoot
As a farm reporter for the Janesville (Wis.) Gazette, Tony Ends realized the importance of food issues early. So he made a change. “We wanted to live what we believed. We wanted to teach our kids how to raise their own food and to know what that means,” says Ends. “To live in a farming community is to realize how much community involvement is needed.” Ends knows that food issues affect the pocketbooks, the lives, the environment and the community life of the small family farmer. So when the Churches’ Center for Land and People contacted him for the second time to take its helm, he accepted. CCLP’s part-time director since July 2003, Ends also farms on a small scale, raising sheep, goats and more than 100 varieties of vegetables. He and his wife moved to their farm near Janesville more than 15 years ago, intent on living “the healthy life” with their children. CCLP, a licensed 501(c)(3) not-for-profit program based in Middleton, Wis., was organized during the 1980s farm crisis, perhaps best known for farm foreclosures and celebrity-run Farm Aid concerts. The group eventually created its first Harvest of Hope Fund to help small-scale farmers in need and, since 1986, has given more than 1,075 gifts totaling $610,000 to Wisconsin farm families. Cash gifts of up to $1,000 go toward emergency medical, utility and farm bills. In December 2003, CCLP held its first Harvest of Hope winter farmers’ markets in Madison and Milwaukee. The group, a coalition of nine denominations representing the Jewish, Christian and Islamic faiths, now holds sales in Iowa and Illinois as well. Through the markets, producers connect directly with consumers, eliminating the middleman and receiving a higher return. “Farmers often come a long distance (to the markets) and take a whole Saturday,” says Ends. “They need others to cover their livestock while they’re gone. It’s a real risk for them.” Still, Harvest of Hope hosted 45 sales in 25 cities in 2007 and, says Ends, there’s the possibility of 70 markets in the tri-states this winter. “If I had my way, I’d have a hundred markets in every state,” says Ends. Each sale is hosted by a local congregation in its parish hall. The markets also feature a brunch (using regional foods and often prepared by local cooking school students) and a performance by local musicians. Through advance-sale brunch tickets, the organizers can defray the market’s administrative costs, pay the students a small stipend and have a good idea of how many will attend. Sharon Dettmann has taken part in farmers’ markets in Davenport, Iowa, for more than 30 years. She’s contributed twice to the Harvest of Hope, offering her breads, cookies and brownies. “It’s about helping the farmer pay his bills — helping him so he doesn’t lose his farm,” she says. “And we want the purity of products.” Vendors sell what they, their neighbors or small farm cooperatives make or grow with natural and sustainable practices. Products include handmade wool and woolen goods, baking flour, farmstead milk soap (including Ends’ own goat milk soaps), eggs, dried fruit, cider, cheeses, jams and preserves, honey, maple or sorghum syrup, baked goods, winter spinach and meats such as grass-fed beef, pork and lamb. The farmers donate 10 percent of their proceeds to the Harvest of Hope Fund. The markets are open to those of all faiths and to the general public. “Common sense tells us that food must be something more than a business transaction, something more than an agricultural practice, something more than a ritual we perform three times a day in response to rumblings in our stomachs,” says Ends. “Food is community.” For a schedule of Harvest of Hope winter farmers’ markets, turn to Resources.
