Actor Christopher Reeve once said a hero is “an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”

And a military veteran turned farmer fits that category. Farmers and veterans both put in long hours, make sacrifices and support others. Homegrown By Heroes, a branding program created in late 2013 by the Farmer Veteran Coalition and supported by the American Farm Bureau Federation, is helping veteran farmers promote their agricultural products. The AFBF is Virginia Farm Bureau’s national affiliate organization.

“I think if people see the Homegrown by Heroes label and know they’re supporting veteran farmers, they will be inclined to buy that product,” said Paul Meyer, one of almost two dozen Virginia farmers participating in the program. He served in the Coast Guard but now owns and operates the Virginia Vegetable Company in Powhatan County. Meyer offers community supported agriculture, or CSA, memberships and sells produce at farmers’ markets and restaurants. He labels preserved produce with the HBH logo.

David and Denise Hudson, who served in the Air Force and Army Guard, sell meat products from Hudson Heritage Farm in Halifax County. They also use HBH labels to promote the fact that they are veterans.

“Consumers want to understand where their food comes from, and they like to support certain things—like veterans—so this is one way they can do both,” David Hudson said.

HBH provides labels to participating farmers to highlight that those products have been grown or produced by a past member of the U.S. armed forces. There are more than 500 HBH participants in 48 states. 

For more information about the HBH program, visit farmvetco.org/homegrown-by-heroes