Located in Freeland, MD, about 30 miles north of Baltimore, First Fruit Farm, Inc. is a nonprofit ministry dedicated to growing fresh vegetables to help feed the hungry in our community. Since 2004, on about 40 acres of beautiful farmland and with help of hundreds of volunteers, we have been blessed to provide over 1 million pounds of fresh produce to our brothers and sisters in need. The cumulative harvest over the past 4 growing seasons included:

In addition to produce, the farm also provides 40 dozen eggs per week as well as honey and beef to various shelters and food banks.

Rick and Carol Bernstein embarked on this ministry in 1998, based on their belief that God had called them to share the abundance of the land with others. Since that time, the Lord has provided miracles, great and small, to grow the ministry so that hundreds of people are now involved in the harvest activity while many more than that receive the fruits of the harvest. Volunteers from Hereford United Methodist Church and many other churches, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, youth groups, YMCA, senior citizens, families from the community, corporate volunteer groups and others enjoy working side by side on the farm. An important part of this ministry is bringing people to the farm to build community and to help everyone learn how to grow food and better understand God's gifts of water, earth and nutrition. Indeed, all good things come from the Lord.

Rick and Carol marvel at God’s provision every step of the way. Carol remembers the day in 2004 when her husband came into the house and said, "The green beans are ready to be  picked." No volunteers had been scheduled so Carol started thinking quickly about who she could call for help. But instead, her phone rang – a youth group from Virginia was heading out on a mission trip (ultimately to NYC) and planned to do “random acts of service” along the way; they asked if they could be of any help at the farm. Within days, two large RV’s pulled onto the farm with a youth group and sponsors. They spent two days at the farm picking beans; they also enjoyed an evening bonfire and worship time with youth from the Bernstein's church, who camped out on the farm with their new friends from Virginia. This was the start of the bean harvest which all together that season amounted to 5,000 lbs of green beans for the hungry. This is just one example of the many ways in which the Lord has provided for the needs of this ministry.

If you would like to volunteer or learn more about the farm, please visit our "Inquiries" link.

Some of the "Brothers and Sisters In Need" we serve are listed below.