Port Wentworth Collard Greens Festival in Limbo

A Port Wentworth Man’s generosity may have to come to an end.

The first weekend of March every year Willie Johnson hands out collard greens for free to seniors and disabled vets.

In its thirteenth year, it’s morphed into a festival but now something is taking a bite out of his crops.

News Three’s Alice Massimi spoke with the farmer about his labor of love and his fight to save the decade-long tradition of giving back.

“Normally we grow peas, butter beans, okra right back over here, watermelon, corn,” and the list of what’s grown at the Promised Land goes on. 

It’s a farm in Port Wentworth run by Bill Johnson and his wife. 

“So this is a hobby?”

“Oh yeah always been a hobby.”

“This looks like a lot of work?”

“Let me tell you something you wouldn’t believe what kind of work goes on in this thing here, farming is hard work but you got to love to do it,” explains Bill. 

It’s not because of his passion for produce that he keeps doing it, what he loves most is giving away his crop of collard greens free of charge every year.

But this year the deer are unrelenting, tracks litter the crop, proof that the deer are taking a bite out of the Promised Land’s future.

“They started eating these here but you will see evidence when we get down here and you will see the peas were ate off, they ate the peas down,” heartbreaking to Johnson who relies on selling these crops in order to afford his annual giveaway during the festival.

“If I am going to continue the Collard Green Festival I need this money to put back in that so we can continue what we are doing.”

It’s a mission that’s personal Bill. 

“It was hard coming up a little boy, it was hard. It was rough and now I got a chance to give back to somebody because people gave back to us,” he explains.

Having to rely on more than a green thumb Johnson says he is ready to do all he can to save the event.

You can come out this weekend to help support Bill’s efforts at the Promised Land.

On Friday afternoon, he will be selling home cooked ribs and on Saturday full barbeque dinners, along with fresh vegetables and some homemade desserts. All the profits go towards the farm and their mission.