The Union Mission Sustainable Agriculture Program just kicked into high gear this week! 300 broiler chicks were shipped to Union Mission and they are happily scratching, pecking, and eating in their new custom made brooder on Union Mission property.
Within 8 weeks, these chickens will be fully grown and ready for processing. We are excited at the thought of producing hundreds of pounds of pasture raised, non GMO fed chicken for our clients as well as the people of the Greater Kanawha Valley.
This is just the beginning of the Sustainable Agriculture Program for this year. With volunteer help and additional donations, we look forward to expanding our gardening efforts and building agricultural infrastructure that will allow additional food growing opportunities.
The goal of the Sustainable Agriculture Program is threefold:
- Raise high quality, nutrient dense food for the men and women in our addiction recovery and other programs.
- Teach/train the men and women in the addiction recovery programs the benefits of animal husbandry skills and other agricultural skills as well as the benefits of a hard day’s work.
- Raise money to continue to fund these programs as well as expand Union Mission’s agricultural efforts.
If you would like to volunteer or donate to the Sustainable Agriculture Program, we have some specific needs upcoming:
- Volunteers to help prepare ag land at out South Park Property
- Volunteers that have chicken processing experience
- Volunteers to help construct “chicken tractors” for protecting our pastured chickens (basic carpentry skills needed)
- Donations to help purchase chicken processing equipment (scalder, picker, etc)
- Donations to help cover feed costs and other supplies
Please consider getting involved in our Sustainable Agriculture Program!
