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Arizona farmer reaps most joy from feeding poorPHOENIX (AP)--One way to tell how passionate someone is about a goal is to look at the obstacles he or she overcomes to attain it. Homer Piatt's goal was his Harvest for Humanity Foundation. For 16 years, the Chandler resident has been raising produce, mainly zucchini and turnips now, on 2 acres in a residential area in south Tempe and then giving everything away. He plows, plants, weeds and harvests even in the heat and gives the crops to food banks. It's not easy. People throw trash into his field. They steal the produce and paint graffiti on the surrounding walls. Volunteers don't always show up. Once he got the free services of prisoners for a harvest but had to stop when neighbors complained about seeing the jail uniforms near their homes. He finally began taking in donations of appliances, furniture and vehicles and selling them to raise money to hire laborers through his foundation. In this weak economy, donations dried up this year. "Donations are just down to nothing. People are scared to buy new furniture and cars," he said. "I don't blame them." Piatt, 75, who lives on an Air Force pension, also has been invited to pick citrus at people's homes for the past 20 years, and he donates the fruit to food banks. Because he can't climb a ladder anymore, he needs money to hire laborers. Bob Evans, president and chief executive officer of United Food Bank in Mesa, doesn't know of anyone else who goes to this much work to give away food. Piatt gives produce to the St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank, too. "We don't know when he's coming. He will just show up, and he will have a truckload of oranges or a truckload of turnips or whatever. And a lot of time, like with the turnips, you can still rub dirt off them. They are just right out of the ground," Evans said. "I am glad he has chosen us to be the recipient of his generosity." Piatt has been raising or picking food for food banks for two decades. He got inspired in 1987 after hearing a voice that commanded him to do something for humanity and "feed the hungry" while camping in Montana in 1987, he said. Piatt raised crops on several other fields before finding his current home in Tempe in 1992. A number of companies, individuals and organizations have helped by giving him seed, water, land, the loan of tractors and an irrigation system complete with electrically run timers. Dr. Suresh Anand, an allergist in Tempe and owner of Allergy Associates & Lab, has been letting Piatt use 2 acres next to his office for 16 years and has been paying for the water, as well. That runs $200 to $300 a month. Anand has been offered money to buy the commercially zoned land but wants to let Piatt keep farming it as long as he is able. Besides, he and his staff enjoy seeing firsthand what it takes to produce food. "I think it's a very rewarding experience every six months to see all the things growing. And, of course, we learn," Anand said. "Sometimes at the table, we don't realize how much hard work goes into every thing we eat ... how much effort goes on behind the scenes." Once, he asked Piatt if he should fence the property to cut down on thefts, but the farmer said no. "Homer said, 'Well, if someone steals it, that means they need it.' Over the years, I kind of followed that motto in my personal life," he said. "Homer is one of the finest persons I've ever met." Others may have given up. When Piatt was asked why he continues to do this after all the problems, he pats his heart and says, "It's my calling, as long as I am able." 12/15/08 Date: 12/9/08 Advertisement
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