Each spring, Little Portion Farm (located in Ellicott City, MD) hosts a celebration around the time of the Feast Day of Blessed Giles of Assisi on April 23. This year’s event will take place on Saturday, April 20, 12:30pm – 3:30pm.
Enjoy a farm-fresh meal, including grass-fed beef burgers and hot dogs, along with sides made with fresh produce from Little Portion Farm. The event also includes farm tours, live music from local band Lost n’ Found, lawn games, plant sales, and other farm fun. Any proceeds from this event will support the work of Little Portion Farm to care for the earth and those living with food insecurity.
For more information and the opportunity to purchase tickets, visit https://www.littleportionfarm.org/giles/
Little Portion Farm is a ministry of the Franciscan Friars Conventual focused on providing fresh food to those in need while using sustainable farming methods to restore the health of our land. The 3-acre farm functions as an “agro-ecosystem,” with a diversity of plants and habitats to support the life of this “little portion” of creation. As the food harvested from the farm is donated to the Franciscan Center in Baltimore, the overarching mission of this ministry is, using the words of Pope Francis, to “hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”
Blessed Giles of Assisi, a farmer and one of the first followers of St. Francis, is the farm’s Patron Saint. With Francis, Giles served the most vulnerable. He strived to earn his livelihood through manual labor. Whatever he obtained beyond his most immediate needs he at once gave to the poor. He said: “Happiness is to do bodily labor for the love of the Most High and not to take any lesser wages than Paradise for the good work one does.” April 23rd is Giles’ feast day. It was on this day in 1209 that Giles begged St. Francis to accept him into his company. Francis said: “See here a good brother whom almighty God has sent us.” And it was on April 23rd in 1262 that Giles entered eternal life.
