Chris and Laura answered our questions via e-mail.

What is Bread and Roses Farm?

Bread and Roses Farm is a 5-acre diversified vegetable farm located in Westford, VT. We are "certified naturally grown" and primarily market our harvest through our CSA.

We chose farming as a means to engage with our community; be our own bosses; grow and eat beautiful, healthy food; and maintain a commitment to the local economy and environment.

What did you do before you decided to become a farmer?

Chris worked at COTS (Committee on Temporary Shelter) in Burlington, VT where she acted as manager of the Firehouse Family Shelter. Laura was a naturalist for outdoor education schools in California.

Why did you decide to farm, and where did you work to gain farm experience?

Chris decided to farm after five years of social justice-type work. Spurred on by acceptance into an agro-ecology and farm apprenticeship program in California, Chris realized that she could help people by connecting them to their food sources, protecting their natural environs, and simultaneously be out in the elements.

Laura had dreamed of being a farmer since escaping L.A. County at age 18. She studied agro-ecology throughout college.

After we both completed the apprenticeship at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (Santa Cruz), we were hired on to work as teaching/farm assistants at the UCSC farm. From there, Chris worked a season with Mimi Arnstein at Wellspring Community Farm in Marshfield, VT and Laura worked with Paul Betz and Kate Camiletti at High Ledge Farm in Woodbury, VT. After completing a season with each Vermont farmer, we ventured into our own business.


What do you grow/produce?

Bread and Roses Farm essentially grows every vegetable you see in a seed catalogue, with a few exceptions! Our highlights are red peppers, garlic, greens and lettuce, and carrots. We also love to grow eggplant, broccoli raab, kohlrabi, onions and potatoes.

We have a quarter-acre pick-your-own garden for CSA members that's full of mixed flowers, cherry tomatoes and tomatillos, beans, peas, basil, and perennial herbs.

What kind of work do you do during the winter season?

Over the winter, Chris returns to Trinity Preschool, which graciously takes her back at the end of each farming season.

Laura typically does substitute teaching during the off-season, but this year tried something new: she's working at Martone's Deli in Essex Center. We both generally work 15-20 hours a week on the farm business throughout the winter, creating a crop plan, ordering seeds, doing marketing and accounting, and updating our business plan.

What are the daily professional challenges you face, and what solutions have you found?

Our main challenge on the farm is health, both mental and physical. We both tend toward overworking to the point of exhaustion (as is true of most farmers)! We hope to grow sustainably, in a way that can support the farmer's livable wage and an apprentice or two.

We're also paying a lot more attention to what is making money on the farm and what isn't. Although we didn't start farming to make money, we are finding that we need to manage our finances well in order to be a strong, healthy farm that will last into the future.

What are your goals for this year?

We plan on planting a new field with great drainage to insure against rainy weather like we experienced last year. We'll finish up our business plan through the Small Farm Viability Program, which will position us for a small equipment loan. Our main goal is to accept 75 CSA members to the farm and spend our season connecting with and feeding them!