'Treated as equals': farm employing people with disabilities hopes to inspire change

GERMANTOWN, Md. (WJLA) — David Ruch is the greenhouse assistant at the Red Wiggler Farm in Germantown, Maryland.

He spent a cold, wet morning this week getting the farm ready for spring. He’s one of 16 employees at the farm with developmental or intellectual disabilities.

“When I’m harvesting, I know I’m harvesting vegetables. And it feels good to harvest vegetables from Mother Earth," Ruch said.

Woody Woodroof started this farm in 1996 to create meaningful jobs in an inclusive environment.

Our employees participate at every level, from planting the seed to cultivating the plants and setting them out in the field, to harvest and distribution," Woodroof explained. “The bottom line is, we treat people as people here.

A portion of the vegetables they grow are distributed to community members in low-income households, as well as to adults with developmental disabilities.

“Having the opportunity to distribute produce to people who are perhaps less fortunate, gives people a sense of meaning. That’s what we’re talking about," Woodroof said. “We all share the same human needs and desires. We want to do something meaningful with our lives. We want to be happy and contribute to other people’s happiness. Because that’s often when we’re most happy — when we can help others.”

The employees getting Red Wiggler Farm ready for spring are proud of their work. Which is why they say they want to see more opportunities afforded to people like themselves.

Red Wiggler will present in D.C. this week at Kennedy Krieger's Neurodiversity in the Workplace conference — with the goal to promote the hiring of people with disabilities.

Think about your business a little differently," Woodroof said. "What is that job that maybe somebody could do, and I could take that off of somebody else’s plate?

Kennedy Krieger's conference is the perfect platform to inform people of what Ruch already knows.

“Everyone who has a disability should be able to have the opportunity to have a job where they’re actually treated right and not mistreated," he said. "Just treated as equal.”