disabled combat veterans

By Emily Hoover | ehoover@flagler.edu
Photos by Robert H. Heinrich

Down a long dirt road on the border of Duval and Clay counties, where the open air is clean and the sun just begins to peek through the clouds, is a farm that houses organic fruits, vegetables, livestock, honeybees and other commodities.

But for Adam Burke, founder of Veterans Farm, this farm is far from ordinary. The disabled combat veterans who work the farm during a six-month fellowship are more valuable than the goods they produce.

“I am very selective in [the veterans] I choose,” Burke, a U.S. Army veteran, said. “This is not about a paycheck. It’s about tranquility, peace in life, people who are looking for a change, to grow in their lives.”