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Armed to Farm: On-the-farm to help other vets

An Army veteran is happy to have found a farm and is planning to give other veterans hands-on farm training.

Alicia Moore is learning as she goes. She did not grow up on a farm.  She was enlisted for six years and did a tour in Iraq. She was a French and Arabic translator. After the military she began to study food systems and food security.

Last year, Alicia met Air Force veteran Sara Creech at an Armed to Farm event who was starting an organic farm in Indiana. Alicia teamed up with Sara and her goal is to develop training for other veterans at the farm.  And, they have another goal. She tells Brownfield Ag News, “Right now, it’s just us but as the farm grows and becomes more profitable, the vision is to have every enterprise on the farm run by a veteran. So, the orchard, the livestock, the farmer’s market, the honey (would be run by veterans).”

Alicia developed post traumatic stress disorder and said several of her comrades committed suicide. She believes they received inadequate mental health services through the V-A. She says there was less mental health help for veterans when she returned in the 2000s than there is now.

She says their first veteran/farmer training session at Blue Yonder Farm will be next June.

AUDIO:  Interview with Alicia Moore (14:00 mp3)

 Sara Creech – Veteran Healing through Farming