SUMMERFIELD, N.C. – Long-term addiction treatment center Freedom House has had to change how it raises money after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the center to shut down its main money-maker.

Houston Core, executive director of Freedom House, has become a farmer during the pandemic because the organization is focusing its efforts on expanding the farm to generate revenue for their treatment center. The center was forced to shut down its thrift stores, the main source of income, because of coronavirus.

Core says they're working on expanding the farm from one acre of strawberries to about five or six acres, since strawberries generate the most income from the produce stand.

“Really, the pandemic allowed us to expedite what would have been a three- or four-year plan into just over a one-year plan,” Core says.

Core says they are working on building more houses for families with the extra revenue they're generating from the farm.