Steve Acheson and Steph Krueger started Peacefully Organic Produce, a veteran- led CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in 2014 with a mission to grow healthy organic food as well as to provide a peaceful place for Veterans to return home from the military, assimilate back into society, and realize the healing power of working in the soil. The farm was also established in part because Steve and Steph were realizing the Veteran unemployment rates are double the civilian population and 22 vets commit suicide a day. They were finding more and more people with similar experiences or who needed to reconnect with the soil, each other, and be doing something productive and purposeful.

Now a week away from their first CSA delivery of their third season Steve was admitted to the ER for emergency surgery. Steve was crushed by a tire from a Humvee back in 2005 while deployed to Sadr City, Iraq. He has had two previous surgeries in hopes of repairing this injury but it has only gotten worse. What Steve really needed was a specialist but was unable to receive this care at the VA. The emergency surgery was to address his Cauda Equina Syndrome which developed due to a severe re-herniation of his old injury and could possibly lead to permanent nerve damage.


Please consider donating so that POP's can sustain its produce for the year and Steve and Steph are supported in continuing the good work that they do. Moreover, this assistance will provide solid ground for Steve to recover upon. The bureaucratic nature of Veteran healthcare in our country is slow and sometimes altogether unresponsive. We need to help Steve get the care that his body needs so that he can continue to do the work he does in our world!

Thank you so much for your thoughtful consideration.

UPDATE

Steven, his partner Stephanie, and the team at Peacefully Organic Produce, want to to thank everyone for their donations and ongoing support. Steven is home from the hospital now and is three weeks out from his surgery. While Steven is up and moving about, he has been restricted from bending at the waist, cannot lift more than 10 pounds, and still has loss of feeling and nerve damage. As you can imagine, this severely limits his role on the farm and is extremely frustrating for someone who loves to be outdoors and on the go. His doctors are unable to provide a time frame for if/when this will improve.

The donations from this campaign will be used to fund any ongoing medical expenses, along with helping to compensate Steven's younger brother, who has stepped up and into Steven's shoes. We ask that you continue to share this campaign and support us, so that Steven can keep healing, and we can keep feeding our community