A FARM LESS ORDINARY
This organization has already been registered
Someone in your organization has already registered and setup an account. would you like to join their team?Profile owner : a***n@a***************y.o*g
Mission Statement
A Farm Less Ordinary is a 501c3 non-profit whose mission is to provide employment and a welcoming community to adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities. We encourage a sense of self-worth, and independence for our “Growers” through employment opportunities. We enable our employees to provide for themselves, integrate into the workforce, and become contributing members of the community. We also seek to spread our message of inclusion to the broader Northern Virginia community through outreach, farmers’ markets and events, and our extensive volunteer program that works with schools, religious organizations, and businesses.
About This Cause
AFLO was established to address gaps in job preparation that are the largely the result of inadequate training in job skills from available government programs, resulting in an unemployment rate in the ID/DD community of over 70%. Our focus with our Growers is to promote habits, social skills, and behaviors that can be used in any work setting—communication, teamwork, punctuality, adaptability. Each Grower successfully completes a job interview. They have specific responsibilities and measurable goals. They are paid for their work, and wages increase as goals are met. They develop these skills through tasks related to farming, producing finished products, and working at farmers’ markets. Growers acquire skills and strategies in: • Core Job Competencies: Reliable attendance, respectful communication, goal setting, task completion, working as a team member • Agriculture: Farm maintenance tasks, planning, seed starting, harvesting and prepping vegetables for distribution, creating bouquets from cut flowers. • Customer Service: Appropriate conversation with customers, money handling, retail display • Food Handling: Hygiene, knife skills, kitchen safety, recipe-following. The skills Growers acquire during their time at AFLO are a vital foundation for future, long-term employment. Our goal setting and review process sets high, but attainable, expectations of each individual, challenging them as any employer would. Growers can use AFLO as a launching pad towards greater independence and self-sufficiency than they might otherwise have developed, taking the skills and strategies they’ve learned to make them more employable. During the course of each growing season, we see them develop skills, confidence, and the pride that comes with becoming a contributing member of their community. AFLO serves the greater Northern Virginia community by modeling the core values of our mission—that everyone should be valued for what they can contribute. Part of what drives us is spreading a message of inclusion, so that Growers may find a more welcoming community outside the boundaries of our farms, where local employers and community members are prepared to accept them as employees and co-workers. Through outreach at farmers’ markets, fairs and events, and via our popular volunteer program, we reach approximately 500-600 people in face-to-face interactions (and approximately 1,900 people via our mailing list) during each growing season and are becoming a recognized presence in Loudoun County and beyond. AFLO has always given back to the community, starting with our initial donations to a women’s shelter in 2015. Over the years, we have partnered with organizations such as Loudoun Hunger Relief, Healthworks of Northern Virginia, and FISH of Clarke County to provide fresh organic produce to people in need. providing approximately 300 pounds of produce each week between late June and late October to a local food bank, in order to provide healthy options to families dealing with food insecurity. Since 2021, we have partnered with Tree of Life food pantry in Leesburg. Our Growers participate actively in these donations, learning the value of giving back to the community in many ways.