MOORES HILL, Ind. — Victory Acres, a Dearborn County hydroponic farm using agriculture to transform lives, offers former inmates job training and a fresh start.
"I used to grow the devil's lettuce, and now I'm growing God's lettuce," said Aaron, a client at Victory Acres.
He told us the person he is today is not who he was four years ago. He was previously incarcerated in Dearborn County, but always had a passion for hydropnics.
The change began when John Erickson, vice president of Victory Acres, told him about the hydroponics farm. Erickson has spent seven and a half years visiting county jails, conducting Bible studies with inmates.
"So many of them are abused, neglected, no hope," Erickson said. "To give them something that's real, that's lasting, it's just life changing."
Victory Acres provides housing to two clients at a time while also teaching skills in hydroponics and conventional farming. The hope is to expand the facility to house more people returning to society.
WATCH: Victory Acres uses agriculture training to help ex-inmates build job skills and find stability in Dearborn County
President Thomas Vickroy started the program after his stepson was incarcerated. He told us he wanted to make a difference in the lives of people society often discards.
"Some of them refer to me, maybe as their second dad," Vickroy said. "Sometimes when a person commits a crime, families discard them as if they don't mean anything. So here, I tried to instill that love for one another."
It began in 2019 in a one-car garage and has now grown into 10 acres, helping returning citizens find confidence, get respect, build self-esteem and learn how to provide for themselves.
"This is a house where I have two clients that live upstairs with a common area so they can prepare their own food, they have their own restroom and bedroom," said Vickroy. "This area here is one of two grow rooms that has three different kinds of lettuce in it. We supply lettuce to several retail outlets".
Vickroy said a small grant helped put the greenhouse together.
"Ken Anderson Alliance, when they shut down their operation, they came and offered their product to us. So, God has been good to us," Vickroy said.
Vickroy and his wife also purchased and donated 10 acres of land to provide housing for clients who help run the grow rooms and greenhouse. They supply produce ranging from lettuce to broccoli to Aurora Market, Dillsboro, Vivey's IGA foodliner and a restaurant.
The farm had aquaponics before transitioning to their current hydroponic system. Through Erickson's prison ministry work, they began connecting with clients seeking second chances.
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"Many employers will not give a person who's incarcerated a second chance," Vickroy said. "If that person is incarcerated, that's coming back to society, they've got to have money to live, and if they can't get a job, what is their choice? And so here we're trying to provide that choice."
For Aaron, the program is about more than just money.
"The honor of working with the people that I work with, I can't put a monetary value on that," Aaron said.
Aaron is now certified in agriculture, but said his biggest accomplishment was building a relationship with God. He told us the spiritual aspect of his transformation brings meaning to his daily work.
"I grow these micro greens, this lettuce, and somebody buys it, and they put it on their table at their house, and they say grace and pray over it," Aaron said. "For this organization to entrust me with doing what I do is a testament to what this place stands for."
