The autumn season has a beauty all of its own. In late October we were treated to scenes of layers of mist rising from the valley adjacent to Crag House Farm, the home of Caring For Life. The leaves are taking on their bright autumn colours and the hedgerows which we have planted are absolutely bursting with berries this year. Alongside bright red hips and haws, and deep red guelder rose berries are the purple sloes and late flowering honeysuckle, making a really beautiful display. This is part of nature’s harvest, providing for so many creatures throughout the cold months.

Our own vegetable garden and polytunnels have also yielded a rich harvest this year. Michael and his team of gentlemen have worked hard in the vegetable garden and have grown some beautiful crops of onions, potatoes, cabbage and many other crops, in addition to the very unusual (and huge!) Hubbard squash. Mark, our chef, made these up into very tasty golden soup and served it with bright yellow curry-flavoured bread. All very unusual but very nice!

In the polytunnels, the other horticultural team grew a large number of courgettes, peppers and aubergines, as well as lots of salad leaf crops, cucumbers by the dozen and some super tomatoes.

As the autumn drew in, those attending the daytime therapeutic projects at Crag House Farm helped to pick food from the wild: plums and blackberries. Lots of tasty crumbles were enjoyed as a result.

But then a harvest of a different kind began to literally pour into Crag House Farm. Car after car drew up outside Reception and our very kind supporters called in to say that they had brought their harvest. One couple came from as far afield as Chessington, others from the North Yorkshire Moors area and some from very near by.

Our PR team and TFJs were kept busy going out to pick up harvest donations from local churches and schools and each generous gift had to be sorted and carefully packed away in date order.

As one supporter said, “Harvest Festivals aren’t like I remember as a boy. Then it was all cabbages, runner beans and apples, things you had grown yourself. Now it is non perishable foods, tins of beans and the like!”

It is a different sort of harvest indeed, but we are so grateful for this incredibly generous form of support. All the foods can be stored away and used to provide food parcels each week for people in need, or to pack up 100 or more food hampers at Christmas time. Still more is used in the daily provision of meals at Crag House Farm for those attending the daytime projects and this helps to keep our food bills down, both at the Centre and in our two supported homes.

This is a beautiful time of year in many ways, but beautiful too in that we see the generosity of God’s people, in very practical ways. As God’s love fills them, it overflows and reaches us here at CFL in our ministry of serving very vulnerable people. We are aware that this giving is sacrificial and we are so thankful.

Harvest time at Caring For Life really is a very special time!