Simply Southern Spotlight Foundry Farm
art of Foundry Ministries based in Bessemer, Foundry Farm in P Cullman provides a yearlong, faith-based, residential recovery program for men seeking help with alcohol and drug addiction. Employment readiness is an
important part of each man’s recovery process, and they take turns caring for more than 300 chickens and collecting eggs in Foundry Farm’s henhouse. Eddie Wilson is the farm’s director.
Stations and Times
Saturday, Central Time Market Station Time Columbus, Ga. WLTZ 38 5:00 PM Sunday, Central Time Mobile WPMI 15 6:00 AM Birmingham WBMA 33/40 6:30 AM Huntsville WAFF 48 9:00 AM Montgomery WAKA 8 10:30 AM Dothan WTVY 4 10:30 AM
RFD-TV: Wednesdays • 3 p.m. Central ALWAYS ON: SimplySouthernTV.net
What happens to all the eggs from the henhouse? Eddie Wilson (EW): Residents cook with them, and we send them to two other residential programs within Foundry Ministries. But we also sell them. They’re used at local restaurants in Cullman County, including Urban Cookhouse, All Steak and Holly Pond Café, as well as Josie’s in Decatur and S&J Produce in Madison. We also sell them at The Foundry Thrift Store in Cullman. During summer, we sell at the Festhalle Farmers Market.
Tell us about the employment readiness portion of the program. EW: Some of our guys are assigned to work our retail thrift stores in Cullman and Fairfield. Others are assigned to things around the farm — the henhouse, the gardens, cooking, cleaning or maintenance. We teach 10 soft skills — things like having a good attitude, being teachable and staying in the area you’re assigned. How do the residents change from the time they enter until they graduate?
How do eggs provide opportunities to share Foundry Farm’s message? EW: When we go to the farmers market in downtown Cullman, our booth is usually overseen by a couple of guys who are currently in the program, and for those guys to get to share what God’s doing in their lives — that’s so much more important than the first egg we could ever sell. Anybody that’s ever had any type of addiction whatsoever has a story to tell. Some are not always pleasant. But you know what? They all need to be heard, because everybody needs to know that there’s hope, there’s freedom, and there’s a place you can come to get those things.
Simply Southern TV is sponsored by alfafarmers.org
EW: Initially, they are broken, beaten up and have little hope. But when they come to the Foundry Farm, they know they’re going to be taught the word of God. Every day, we are going to talk about your Lord and savior Jesus Christ because he is the only way to true freedom. Once they start one-on-one counseling, going to Bible studies and attending chapel services, they start to grow. It usually takes about six weeks before they really sit back, relax and start buying in to what we do. By the end of it, we’re getting families involved. And that whole restoration process of bringing children and dads and brothers and moms and everybody back together — that’s truly one of the greatest blessings we get to witness at the Foundry. Simply Southern’s segment about this story airs on broadcast stations June 18 and 19 and on RFD-TV Wednesday, June 22, at 3 p.m. Central. For more information, visit SimplySouthernTV.net. Catfish Checkoff
Wheat & Feed Grain Checkoff
Soybean Checkoff
June 2022
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NEIGHBORS
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