- eli@tyeshouse.org
- 330 Changebridge RD Suite 101 Pine Brook, NJ 07058
The Local Food Heroes Program trains veterans to become professional agricultural service providers, creating pathways for them to build independent businesses that strengthen food security in communities while continuing their mission of service to our nation.
At Local Food Heroes, we teach veterans regenerative agriculture through comprehensive training—from foundational growing methods to advanced business development. Through our $250,000 USDA Northeast SARE grant-funded program, veterans progress through workshops, hands-on experience, paid apprenticeship, and professional certification. We’re not creating dependency—we’re teaching self-sufficiency and business ownership. Veterans learn to operate their own agricultural service businesses using our Mobile Tool Library model, bringing professional expertise and equipment directly to families, churches, schools, and communities.
We see a future where veteran-led agricultural businesses transform communities across New Jersey and eventually the nation. We imagine veterans operating professional service enterprises that help families take back control of their food, teaching neighbors regenerative practices, and creating local food systems built on economic sustainability rather than charity. Through practical discipleship—using service and agricultural training as vehicles for transformation—we’re proving that farming can be both profitable and purposeful while rebuilding communities and stewarding creation.
We’re developing Veterans Haven North as our flagship Garden Education Center, creating a comprehensive agricultural training site where veterans can master hands-on farming skills, learn regenerative practices, develop professional service businesses, gain equipment operation expertise, and build the foundation to become agricultural leaders in their communities.
A key innovation in our approach is the Mobile Tool Library service model—professional agricultural services bringing training, equipment, and expertise directly to client locations. This fills the critical gap in agricultural education: connecting knowledge to practical implementation. Rather than just teaching theory, we’re training veterans to establish viable businesses that serve homes, churches, schools, and municipal properties at competitive market rates.
After veterans complete training through our program, they can launch their own independent agricultural service businesses, replicate our Mobile Tool Library model in their communities, or pursue other agricultural ventures. These veteran-led businesses serve as community resources where families can access professional food production services, learn regenerative growing practices, and gradually rebuild food sovereignty. In this way, veterans become Local Food Heroes in their own neighborhoods, using professional skills to strengthen food security while creating sustainable livelihoods.
Local Food Heroes began in 2023 at Veterans Haven North in Glen Gardner, NJ, with a simple conviction: veterans who once protected America can now feed America—but they need comprehensive training, not just basic gardening classes.
What started as transformation of an unused staff courtyard into a productive garden has evolved into a federally-funded research program. In June 2025, we received a $250,000 USDA Northeast SARE grant, providing funding to test an important research question: Are regenerative market garden methods viable in small spaces (under 1 acre) as a professional service business model?
The answer we’re discovering: when you combine training with the Mobile Tool Library service model and multiple revenue streams, small-scale operations become economically sustainable. This isn’t just about production—it’s about creating professional service businesses that make regenerative agriculture accessible to everyone.
Local Food Heroes is the flagship program of Tye’s House, a 501(c)3 nonprofit using a Four Pillars framework for community rebuilding: The Family Home, The Church Community, The Garden Education Center, and The Mission Home. Our broader ecosystem includes Sweet Bulb (value-added products from regenerative growers), FinStead Consulting (business development support), and future expansion to The Farm at Leslie Court (2027), demonstrating how family farms can partner with Garden Education Centers while maintaining independence.
We’re launching comprehensive operations in March 2026 with our first full veteran cohort. Our one-acre demonstration site at Veterans Haven North will serve as both training ground and research site, testing intensive market garden methods and Mobile Tool Library service delivery.
We’re transforming resident courtyards into edible medicinal gardens, establishing market garden demonstration sites, developing specialty crop programs, training the next generation of agricultural leaders, and creating stronger connections with local food systems—all through practical discipleship that combines service with skill development.
“. . . make it your ambition to live quietly, to mind your own business and to earn your living by your own efforts — just as we told you. Then your daily life will gain the respect of outsiders, and you will not be dependent on anyone.” —1 THESSALONIANS 4:11-12
