Growth Opportunity: Grace Community Farm Nourishes Transformation

Sometimes purpose looks like repurpose.

Case in point: what was once a dormant ball field at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Orange, California is now Grace Community Farm, a ministry of the church to provide food for the underserved and a gathering place of welcome and education for the larger community.

“Not everyone wants to serve humanity by going to church services,” said Nelly Walker, a member of Our Saviour’s and one of the driving forces for the creation of Grace Community Farm, “so this is a way to create community and a place where people can give back. And also to bring people to our campus and let them know there’s a loving church here that cares about people and wants to help them.”

Once used for children and youth ministry, the field lay fallow for several years as the church’s congregation aged. But as the field grew nothing but weeds, the seed of an idea began to germinate in Walker’s mind.

“Several decades ago I had the idea to turn that area into a community farm in order to invite the community to our property,” Walker said. After Covid, I decided I wasn’t just going to have this idea in my mind anymore—we were going to figure it out.”

Understanding the enormity of this undertaking, Walker got permission from the church council to seek out partner organizations.

“I took the idea to a few organizations and eventually found a partner that works perfectly for us with CRECE Urban Farms,” Walker said.

A recent recipient of an ELCA Domestic Hunger Grant, CRECE (pronounced “KREH-say”) is a Santa Ana-based urban farming organization that places a high emphasis on regenerative farming practices, care for the land, community engagement, and an “all are welcome” ethos that, despite the fence around Grace Community Farm, invites rather than excludes.

“We were happy that someone else out there wanted to do the work we do in transforming spaces,” said Steve Anticona, Assistant Coordinator for CRECE. Anticona is the one who has taken on the lion’s share of the partnership with Our Saviour’s.  

“We got together and they were interested in helping us,” Walker said, “so they designed the garden and we decided on the name Grace Community Farm.”

But before they could plant their first seeds, they had to transform the land into something that could yield a harvest. That involved a lengthy process of fencing, mulching, and waiting for the organic transformation of this grass field.

“Calling it a grass field is very generous,” said Michelle Johnson, another member of Our Saviour’s and a Committee Member for Grace Community Farm. “There was no grass. It was a dirt lot because we couldn’t afford to water something we were no longer using. The neighbors even complained that we weren’t watering it, and then they complained when we fenced it off and they couldn’t walk their dogs there. But now those same neighbors are like, ‘Wow, thank you.’”

During the down time, Anticona and his team got to work making crucial decisions about the kinds of crops that were going to be in the farm.

“We plant culturally relevant crops,” Anticona said, “crops that tackle the issue of climate resilience, and crops that are going to help us continue the practices we want to share with the public. Not just planting for the sake of planting, but something with more vision and intentionality, because this is a space of community. It’s a space of learning. It’s a space of developing together.”

CRECE’s approach to farming is a natural one, making it a good fit for Grace Community Farm’s all-welcoming, community-focused ethos.

“Our farming practices allow us to be good stewards of the land,” Anticona said. “If production is our goal, we can just get some chemicals and grow things, but it’s not. It’s always been about the community aspect, and that includes sharing regenerative agriculture as a responsible way of doing things. It may take time, but it’s better for the land.”

The response to the farm, both by the congregation and by the larger community, has been encouraging.

“The church community has really enjoyed the farm,” Walker said. “They’re excited to see our property being used to grow food for others. They very much support this ministry, and we do see it as a ministry. There’s a lot of support and enthusiasm for it.”

“We have some consistent volunteers from our church,” Johnson said, “but there are also others from the community who just have a couple of hours free on a Saturday and just want to be a part. One Saturday two gentlemen came from Los Angeles because they’d seen it on social media and just wanted to come be part of it for the morning.”

“We were nervous how the community around the church would react, but they’ve been very positive,” Walker said. “Some people have said they’re glad to see us doing something with this land. Sometimes on Saturday mornings we’ll have people from the neighborhood just come walk through with a cup of coffee just because they want to be there and enjoy the farm.”

Though it’s not all the way up to full-scale production, Grace Community Farm has already offered up some of its bounty to the community.  

“We’ve had pop-up produce stands that allows the community to come over,” Walker said. “We’ll have food available for a suggested donation, but nobody’s turned away for lack of funds. We’ve also had food that’s just been donated to families in need over the last year, and we’re ramping up for regular production to have even more food to donate.”

There are also educational opportunities for the preschool attached to the church, for youth organizations, and for the larger community through presentations every Saturday, as well as the occasional event.

“We have big celebrations around health where we invite local organizations for the community,” Anticona said. “It’s a way for everyone to gather around health, nutrition, and culturally relevant recipes drawn from the crops we planted in the farm.”

And of course, there’s the nuts-and-bolts community that forms from those who enjoy getitng their hands dirty.

“For a lot of us in the church, we were and are always looking for some place to help,” Johnson said, “so I’m thankful for this farm, because it’s a way for us to help our community and a place where I can say, ‘Use me!’ It started as a way to provide food, and it is that, but it’s also a space where people of all different beliefs and different areas and different walks of life can come and have a joint mission of providing for the underserved in our community.”

Though it’s still in its blossoming stages, Grace Community Farm has already begun to provide a haven, one that Our Saviour’s hopes will continue well into the future.  

“Our farm is definitely an expression of ‘God’s work, our hands,’” Walker said. “We want to provide a gentle connection for anyone who comes to the farm, just be friendly and be emblematic of Jesus’ mission to let people know we care about them and see God in everyone.”