Hometown Heroes: Fuller Farm

It all began at a Men’s Lenten Breakfast in 2022. Rural Franklin resident Travis Fuller attended the breakfast and walked away inspired by the speaker, Tyler Goff. He went home and started thinking about what he could do to have influence in his own community. He lived in the country and had acreage as well as experience in farming and gardening. He put those skills to work and decided to plant extra produce to assist others in need.

Fuller works full time at TA Kaiser Heating & Air Inc., and overtime at Fuller Farms. What started out as an inspired goodwill hobby has evolved into a passion to help others, and that feeling spilled over to his good friend and former WRTV-6 reporter Rafael Sanchez. While Fuller had some firsthand knowledge of gardening and farming, Sanchez was what he refers to as a “boy from the Bronx” with absolutely no knowledge of horticulture. Their friendship and partnership in this project complement each other well. While Fuller instructs Sanchez on the basics of planting and harvesting crops, Sanchez uses his enthusiasm and media charm to broadcast their project through social media.

In 2023 their first garden was fully self-funded. With their own uncounted hours of labor, they learned a lot about what to do and not to do in the future. After hours of bending over and picking green beans, Fuller built an arbor-like structure to support his beans this year, making harvest an easier task. That first year, they harvested 3,326 pounds of produce and donated it to Interchurch Food Pantry of Johnson County, a nonprofit organization that works to alleviate hunger in Johnson County. The pantry fed 36,469 families in 2023. Fresh produce has been a welcome commodity at the pantry, giving them the ability to provide fresh and healthy food options to their clients.

With that first plot of 60 feet by 140 feet, they added another plot of 80 feet by 100 feet in 2024. Not only has their garden grown, but additional financial assistance has also started to come in. They received a grant from Johnson County REMC that gave them the ability to donate food to Johnson County Senior Services. Fuller says donations from individuals and businesses have been a help, as a welcome supplement to their personal investments this year.

Fuller and Sanchez have a vision for Fuller Farms to grow each year and continue to give back to the community in even bigger ways. That vision of growth will take additional funding and assistance as they continue to expand their project. They have already planted apple trees, melons and berries. Fuller says they want to add beehives, additional garden plots, chickens for fresh eggs, and a greenhouse. The current garden grows everything from broccoli to zucchini, including well over 20 varieties of vegetables and fruits.

Both men have devoted countless hours in the evenings after their full-time job hours, harvesting the gardens. They use solar lighting and headlamps to see once darkness settles in at night. The garden currently uses a homestead well. The need for a separate well is on their to-do list.

“It is the joy of giving; we just do the best we can,” Sanchez says.