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Fruitful plan helps needy

News Channel 8 photo by PAUL LAMISON

Erick Davis calls Farming for Families "an act of love. ... This is an extension of what God tells us to do."

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By MELISSA SZUMLIC

Tribune correspondent

Published: July 25, 2009

It's round and green and being given away all over Brooksville.

What is it? Watermelon, raised by Erick Davis on 10 acres of donated land. Growing this summer staple is part of a ministry Davis calls Farming for Families.

Davis started the project after his friend Matthew Lowman pitched an idea to grow produce and give it to the needy.

"It was magic when I heard about it. I was like, oh, I'm all over this," the 51-year-old Davis says. It took him two days to develop "a logistical plan." The first stage of planting was last September; the second was in March.

What began on a piece of land donated by his church, Faith Evangelical Presbyterian, now includes multiple plots, all generously contributed.

But Davis, a father of four daughters, does not have a background in farming. His inspiration to help others comes from his faith.

"This is an act of love," he says. "This is an extension of what God tells us to do."

This farmer-in-training has run into a few roadbocks, such as keeping wayward cows from eating the unharvested corn. Surviving the hot Florida sun is another challenge. But overall, Davis says the project is definitely "blessed."

"The whole process was just one that glorified God," he says.

Besides watermelon, the homegrown bounty also includes squash, beans and cucumbers.

With help from friends and volunteers, he will begin to harvest pumpkins in the fall. They will sell the potential jack-o-lanterns and pie fillers for $1 each.

Donning a straw hat and jeans, it's hard to guess that Davis works nights as a registered nurse. Spending the hot days out in a watermelon field is very different from his job in the emergency room at University Community Hospital.

At the hospital, "people come in miserable and angry and hurt and tired and sick and so I try to provide for that need," says Davis. "When I come out here, it's serene, it's peaceful, it's calming. It's all good out here."

He's an inspiration for his co-workers, says Michael Cedrone, the ER team leader. Other employees have taken up causes of their own, such as a multiday marathon for charity. "We're all very proud of Erick's accomplishments," he says. Not only is he saving living lives for a living, he's also giving his time to his church, family, neighbors and anyone who needs help.

Davis aims for purity, in his life and in the crops. His produce is free of professional-grade pesticides. He does use fertilizer, which can get pricey.

"It's our biggest cost," he says. The rest - seeds, land, labor - are all donated. Volunteers come from all denominations and belong to multiple churches.

His friends and family agree that Davis' service is a blessing. Lisa Steinkamp brings her family to volunteer because she thinks the tough work of gathering produce builds character in her kids.

"We just show up. Davis says come on Saturday at 9, we show up," she says. "But he does all the hard work, he does all the planning. He has a lot of kids and he works full time, so it's a labor of love. You can see that when he's giving to others."

And her 16-year-old son, Parker, has grown to like the work, even if it meant spending his recent birthday lugging watermelons. Not the coming-of-age celebration he expected, but one he will remember. Instead of cake, he got to enjoy the fruits of his labor.

"It tastes so good because it's fresh," the teenager says. "You get to pick it up out of the ground and just have a few bites out of it."

After the watermelons are loaded into a pickup truck, it's time to deliver to various homeless shelters, shut-ins, churches and organizations that provide food to the needy. Davis is generous when it comes to giving. A local Boy Scout troop is coming to collect watermelons, then sell them as a fundraiser.

Davis encourages everyone to give back.

"I will absolutely tell you that you will get way more than you will ever give," he says. "Once you start doing it you'll want to do it more and more and more. It's addictive."

Keyword: Farming for Families, to see video of the volunteers at work. To donate or assist with the ministry, go to http://farmingforfamilies.com.

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