I’m not trying to grow everything we eat. I just want to grow a little more of it every year—and understand where our food comes from.

Whether it’s eggs from our chickens, meat we raise, vegetables from the garden, or produce we preserve for the pantry, I like knowing how our food was raised, what went into it, and the journey it took before reaching our table.

For me, every small step brings us a little closer to understanding our food.

Take eggs and chicken, for example.

Before we started raising our own birds, I assumed labels like “free-range” told me more than they actually did. I pictured chickens spending their days wandering through open pasture, but the reality behind those labels can vary quite a bit.

On our farm, we know exactly how our birds are raised. They move to fresh grass every morning, with room to roam, high-protein feed, access to bugs, and plenty of kitchen scraps. They get to do the things chickens naturally do, and we get the confidence that comes from being part of the process.

You can follow more of our chicken-raising journey over at GFY Farms.

The same idea drives our garden.

Yes, homegrown produce tastes better—but that’s only part of the reason we grow. Growing our own food gives us more control over what ends up on our plates.

And what we can’t eat fresh, we preserve.

Some of it is practical—having home-canned vegetables and pantry staples ready to go makes life easier. Some of it is simply because I enjoy the process. But a big part of it is knowing exactly what’s in those jars because I put it there.

When I can our own tomatoes or green beans, there’s no guessing. I know what was added, how it was handled, and where it came from.

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This is where GFY Farms and Deb’s Best Life overlap the most. GFY Farms shares the hands-on work—the growing, raising, preserving, and producing. Deb’s Best Life shares what happens after that: the meals, routines, and everyday choices that help us live a little more intentionally.

That’s what Grow is really about.

It’s not about doing everything ourselves. It’s not about being perfectly self-sufficient. And it doesn’t mean every season of life looks the same.

It’s about making small changes that give us a little more knowledge, a little more control, and a little more connection to the food we eat—one step at a time.