“My goal is to feed 100,000 children!”

by Anne Marie Cox | January 31, 2025

Off the beaten path, there’s a small, 90-acre farm in the northeast province of Limpopo, South Africa. You can see the chicken houses as you drive by and the goats welcome visitors with a “baaaah.”

The fingerprints of generous Iowa companies are all over this farm as they join forces to help Dr. Jim “Doc” Blessman feed 50,000 children in South Africa.

It’s just a start. “My goal is to feed 100,000 children!” he said.

The family owning Bike World in Des Moines helped purchase the farm 10 years ago. Hy-Vee helped drill water wells. Hy-Line International recently gave the farm a second batch of about 1,600 chickens that are producing eggs for the impoverished. The Vermeer Foundation funded a hay baler. The Iowa Rotary supported an education campaign so  local schools could learn how to manage a garden, then they received the tools to start one for their children.

Doc is a visionary with big goals. But as he prepares to celebrate his 80th birthday, he can’t achieve those goals by himself. What I find most interesting is not just the impressive work he’s done - and its extensive by any measure - but how the Spirit has gifted him with the ability to bring good people together to do great things.