Emma’s Acres grows crops of hope, survival
LINC Society operation brings together former convicts and victims of crime
The farmers at Emma’s Acres in Mission are betting on a hot summer.
In addition to the usual produce, volunteers hope to harvest watermelon, cantaloupe, okra, collard greens and tobacco (for ceremonial purposes) — crops typically grown in southern climes.
“I really like the idea of growing something a little different,” said LINC Society co-founder Sherry Edmunds-Flett.
“With the weather we’ve been having, we’ve found we can.”
The farm successfully experimented with growing watermelon last year, and customers at the Mission Farmers’ Market “couldn’t get enough,” she said. The farmer is hoping her southern greens will face a similar reception this year.
While variety sets Emma’s Acres apart, the farm is unique for another reason as well.
Run by the LINC Society, which helps ex-convicts reintegrate into society after their release from prison, Emma’s Acres brings together prisoners and victims of crime to grow food.
Two summers ago, the District of Mission leased an uncleared portion of cemetery land to LINC. So far, the group has cleared about 4 ½ acres and added a greenhouse and irrigation. Former inmates, crime victims and prisoners on day passes from local institutions have been working together to make the farm a success.
LINC gives its harvest to victims of crime for free, selling the rest at the Mission Farmers’ Market. Proceeds from the farm (which are still very limited, admitted Edmunds-Flett) go to fund a part-time victim outreach worker who makes connections with victims of crime.
The outreach worker, Misty Cockerill, is a crime survivor herself, having been attacked by Terry Driver, the man media dubbed the “Abbotsford Killer,” in 1995.
The farm also employs several other people impacted by violent crime, including Ray King, whose 15-year-old son was killed by Clifford Olson.
“The joy of this place for me is seeing Ray coming everyday, escorting guys from Kwìkwèxwelhp (minimum security institution) to work here,” said Glen Flett, a former inmate who co-founded LINC with his wife, Sherry.
“To be a part of helping someone to heal, it just feels good.”
Funded by various grants, including through VanCity and the provincial Community Action Initiative, Emma’s Acres hopes to be self-sustaining by the end of this season — capitalizing on its unique crops.
Other B.C. farmers are also taking advantage of a warming climate and the public’s appetite for food grown close to home. From farmers growing rice and kiwi in Abbotsford, to orchardists selling lemon and olive trees on Vancouver Island, hotweather crops are becoming more and more common.
By 2020, Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley will see an average of 14 more frost-free days a year, according to the B.C. Climate Change Adaptation Assessment. By 2050, there will be 25, said the report, which was completed in 2012.
For the folks at Emma’s Acres, a hot summer would be a blessing.
“These crops (like watermelon) help us set ourselves apart and let us be more inclusive with what we grow,” said Edmunds-Flett. “Customers can come and find something that’s local, but a little out of the ordinary.”