Chesed Farms Origin Story
The Hebrew word “Chesed” is defined as: Lovingkindness, the idea of faithful love in action and often in the Old Testament refers to God’s lovingkindness expressed in His covenant relationship with Israel. God’s chesed denotes persistent and unconditional tenderness, kindness, and mercy, a relationship in which He seeks after man with love and mercy. Jonathan suggested it as the name of the farm. This captured the spirit of why we operate a local farm. Providing healthy, sustainable, local food that becomes a connecting point that builds loving and kind relationships with the people in our community.
Chesed Farms began in Walla Walla, Washington in the spring of 2020. As we, Sundown Hazen and Jonathan Garrett, started building the farm the world was consumed in the response to COVID-19. This event did not thwart our effort, rather it strengthened our resolve and defined how we will engage with our customers.
Local food is important to us! It’s the freshest, tastiest, most colorful, and most nutritious food one can eat. It also has the lowest climate impact because it is not packed into refrigerated shipping containers and placed on boats, trains, and delivery trucks to reach its final destination. And on top of that, it benefits the local economy by creating local jobs and keeps the money local by supporting other local businesses.
We have a big vision for Chesed Farms to grow a variety of delicious, local, premium produce. At the launch of our farm, we are starting with gourmet mushrooms. They are fun to grow and have lots of health benefits. Follow Chesed Farms on Facebook and see how the journey unfolds.
Our initial plan was to launch with the opening of the Walla Walla farmer’s market. With the cancellation of public gathering, we had to find another way to get customers these tasty mushrooms. The answer to that question became clear quickly. A grass roots social media campaign to build an audience of potential customers, and free delivery within the cities of Walla Walla and College Place to make it easy for customers to get their products. When weather permits, we will make deliveries on bicycle. Providing delivery to your doorstep with zero carbon emissions and providing us an exercise routine to stay healthy!