A big thank you! Jacob VandenPlas CEO
DC Farm for vets would like to thank each and every one of you for your assistance in making our first season such a success. We could not have done it without you! We were able to reach 10 veterans this season and start them on their journey to sustainable living and eating. We had lessons from seed ordering and plot planning all the way to harvesting and butchering livestock, and everything in between. Over the course of the 2022 season, we were fortunate enough to have received $26,388.02 in 2 donations from our local community. With those funds we were able to produce $30,467.85 which went to the veterans that helped work the farm, the Feed My People of Sturgeon Bay and other various Veteran organizations and schools throughout Northeast Wisconsin. Our goal, first and foremost, is to eliminate Veteran Suicide. Currently 17.6 Veterans per day still commit suicide nationally and this will continue to be our focus until that number reaches zero. Our path to success runs through plowed fields and the growth of veggies and livestock. Getting veterans together, working the land, producing high quality nutrient dense produce is healing for many. We will continue to work to seek out veterans to join our ranks and provide them opportunities to learn new sustainable skills that will help them physically and mentally for years to come. As you can imagine, our 2023 season is already off to a great start! We have seeds ordered for our transplant program, plots laid out, and are patiently waiting for the snow to melt! This year we are very happy to announce that we are now working two school partners for transplant fundraisers for their schools. New Leaf Prep Academy and St. Bernard School in Green Bay. It is important to entire future generations to learn how to grow, and we are very excited to be a part of their fundraising efforts. In the coming months we will be getting our website revamped with an online store for our remaining garden transplants and swag. We will also be adding a calendar to the website and this newsletter with important dates to remember for upcoming events. We look forward to an exciting year and thank you for joining us on our adventure.
Cody Krepline Executive Director
A little about me; I served 14 years with the WI Army National Guard, with two tours in Iraq, one in Afghanistan, and one training Unit of Combat Operations. Last year I got married to Tracy Buechner, the love of my life and we had a son in July to join my other three kids. Recently, we were able to purchase a home in Dyckesville. We will be moving from Brillion and are excited to be closer to the farm. I have a mechanical background which will help on the farm to teach Veterans the ability to troubleshoot when a breakdown of equipment occurs. This is going to be an exciting year for us with projects, partnerships, and even a few events!! This year is number two, so some things are getting changed a bit from lessons we learned last year. We are looking at getting into a few farmers markets to spread the word of our non-profit and the 3 produce that we’ve grown on the farm. Stay tuned for details to be finalized for future events! We are currently working on finishing the seed orders for this year. We are hopeful that the weather will be in our favor and not like that one year where it snowed 30 inches in April. The greenhouses will be getting prepped within the next few weeks so we can move forward with all of our planting! If you would like to volunteer with planting, projects, everyday weeding, or even an event, please let us know.
Upcoming Dates:
Wednesday May 10th - Time TBD Third Avenue Playhouse Community Partner “Carry Your Heart with Me”
Saturday May 13th, 2023, Farm Season Opening! Transplant sales
Saturday May 20th - Time TBD 2023 Spring Blossom run with Robertson Orchards, Southern Door FFA and Southern Door Cross County Team
