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Norwood
couple opens farm to the hungry NORWOOD A defeated old man got out of a beat-up pickup truck and with his head hung low approached the country home. A thirty-something man with a thick beard and dark hair cascading to his waist opened the door. “Is this where I come for the potatoes?” the old man reluctantly asked. The man with the long hair led his visitor across his vast and hilly 86-acre property to a garden bearing 2,000 potatoes. Together, they dug for potatoes to fill the man’s rumbling belly. The farmer told the man to set the unusually-shaped potatoes aside for his children to enter in competition. More at ease now, the old man confided he was one of the biggest potato farmers in the east coast up until 1976, when he lost everything. When the old man left the farm that day, he carried a bag of potatoes and a boosted spirit. Welcome to Peace Valley Farm. Mike and Lisa Page bought the property between Peterborough and Norwood in 1988 and for the past seven years have been planting potatoes to feed the hungry in their community. They put up signs in the local food banks, inviting people to come out to their farm. Mike has brought many youth living on the streets back to his farm. “It’s about showing the younger generation there’s still a giving world out there,” says Mike. “We’re just sharing the farm. The whole concept is love for your fellow man. No one should be hungry.” He says more than 60 families used the Norwood food bank last year. “Since I was a kid, I could never understand why there were hungry people in Peterborough with all of these farms.” His vision for Peace Valley Farm was born. This year, the Pages have four plots for organic potatoes they will plant on Saturday, May 24. The harvest is in October. They are inviting anyone who’s interested to stop by and help them. “I really want to get the community involved,” says Mike. He adds the more people who come out, the more potatoes they can plant and the more people they can feed through Food for Friends. Another component of their farm is to be a venue for budding artists
to showcase their original music in an alcohol-free venue. Musicians
of all ages are welcome to jam, whether the style is folk, alternative,
jazz or rock. He’s no stranger to the music business, playing a host of instruments himself, possessing sound and recording equipment and having connections in the music industry. About 10 years ago, the Pages hosted a massive concert featuring the Barenaked Ladies, Kim Mitchell and April Wine that generated three-and-a-half tons of food for area food banks. Mike believes there is a powerful link between music and feeding the hungry. People interested in planting potatoes, playing music or volunteering at the farm, can call 652-6224. |
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