The "Top Crop" for Ginna
Top Crops, located on the Western Kentucky Agricultural Research and Education Center in Bowling Green, Ky, is not just a garden, but an opportunity for individuals with special needs to develop themselves personally.
“Top Crops was started to give individuals with special needs another opportunity so that they could learn and grow.” Bill Greer, Top Crops co-founder.
John Michael Huffman (left) and Lyle Parrigin (right) harvest broccoli during the Friday harvest at the Top Crops garden. “Picking [vegetables] and taking them to the [farmers] market,” is Huffman’s favorite part about volunteering at the garden. Parrigin has been coming out to the garden to volunteer for three years and said that “it’s the bright spot of my week”.
Bill and Carol Greer started Top Crops in the summer of 2013 to be an additional learning environment for their daughter, Ginna and other adults with disabilities who have graduated out of high school.
Ginna Greer, 36, is from Bowling Green, Ky. Ginna had a stroke at two weeks old that Bill Greer and Carol Greer did not find out about until she was one year old. Her stroke caused a seizure disorder which caused cortical visual impairment, where she was left completely blind from two weeks to six months old. Ginna Greer does not have a diagnosis, which is a big reason for the beginning of Top Crops.
Ginna Greer, 36, is from Bowling Green, Ky. Ginna had a stroke at two weeks old that Bill Greer and Carol Greer did not find out about until she was one year old. Her stroke caused a seizure disorder which caused cortical visual impairment, where she was left completely blind from two weeks to six months old. Ginna Greer does not have a diagnosis, which is a big reason for the beginning of Top Crops.
Carol Greer holds down a spinach leaf so that her daughter Ginna can cut it. Ginna is at the farm every Friday to harvest, and does most of it on her own with some supervision.
“If you have Down Syndrome, you have the Buddy House. We didn’t have the HIVE initially, so there wasn’t really a place for Ginna to go and have community,” Carol Greer said.
After high school, adults with disabilities don’t have as many opportunities as others. Top Crops was created for these adults who may not have a job but are still looking to be productive.
A WKU Recreation class helps set up cattle panels to create an archway between garden boxes at the Top Crops Garden on Friday, March 29, 2024. Different organizations such as classes, sororities and fraternities and other groups like the Hive come out to help around the garden.
“We knew we weren’t going to be the be-all end-all for everybody. Not everybody would want to garden or be at a market but we could just be another piece. An additional opportunity to get out of the house,” Carol Greer said.
Top Crops offers an outlet for adults with disabilities to get outside, be social and continue to learn post-high school.
Top Crops offers an outlet for adults with disabilities to get outside, be social and continue to learn post-high school.
“Everybody needs opportunities to continue to learn and grow,” Bill Greer said.“They’re not fulfilling their potential because they just don’t have the opportunities to fulfill their potential. And so, Ginna was simply one example of how they should have every opportunity to keep growing.”
(From left to right) John Michael Huffman, Ginna Greer, Alex Embry and Andrew Wash share a meal and a laugh at Chic-Fil-A on Campbell Lane, Bowling Green, Ky. The Top Crops gardeners go out every Friday after harvest to eat lunch together.
A community has been established at Top Crops among the individuals that participate there. On Friday mornings from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., gardeners meet at the garden to harvest the fresh produce being grown. Every Friday after harvest, gardeners go to Chic-Fil-A to share a meal together.
Bill Greer makes a sale during the Saturday morning Farmers Market on Nashville Road, Bowling Green, Ky. On April 23, 2024
On Saturday mornings, the Greer family and some of the other Top Crops gardeners meet at the Community Farmers Market to give back to the community by selling the produce they just picked. Bill Greer said that the market is one of the most beneficial things to happen to Top Crops because of the connection established between the gardeners and the community.
“I think they have come to appreciate, not the disability, but the ability that they see in the gardeners.” -Bill Greer
Ginna Greer (left) and Kaitlyn Hall (right) talk to a customer during the farmers market on Saturday, April 13, 2024 at the Community Farmers Market on Nashville Road in Bowling Green, Ky.
For the members of Top Crops, participating in the garden together gives them social opportunities to connect with one another, and working at the community farmers market provides them with the ability to connect with the community, Bill Greer said.
“They’re also just showing off what they can do and reminding people to look beyond what they might see in a first impression,” Bill Greer said.
“They’re also just showing off what they can do and reminding people to look beyond what they might see in a first impression,” Bill Greer said.
Bill Greer watches as Ginna completes a typing test at the HIVE in Bowling Green, Ky. on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The HIVE offers services to adults with intellectual developmental issues or autism. Ginna is an original member of the HIVE since its opening in 2017.
Ginna Greer cleans the protective glass during her shift at Meltdown Ice Cream shop in Bowling Green, Ky. on April 25, 2024. Greer has been working at Meltdown since it opened in October 2022.
Ginna and others like her have higher functioning capabilities and are still able to do things on their own. Ginna works at Meltdown Ice Cream shop and attends the HIVE on her off days.
“Our goal is to get her more independent, so we are acting as her job coaches,” Carol Greer said.
“Our goal is to get her more independent, so we are acting as her job coaches,” Carol Greer said.
Bill hugs Ginna in the kitchen of their house in Bowling Green, Ky. on Sunday April 28, 2024. “Like with any child, there are times when things are great and there are times when things are tough. But the highs are just as high,” Bill Greer said.
Bill and Carol said over the last 11 years, Top Crops has helped them establish relationships with individuals they never would have had the opportunity to meet otherwise.
Ginna waters snap peas at the garden on Monday, April 29, 2024. The Greer family often goes to the garden by themselves to take care of chores that can’t get done on Friday harvest days and for everyday tasks like watering and routine upkeep.
“It opened our world, not just Ginna’s.” -Carol Greer
