On Monday July 18, following our visit to Nuestras Raices, we loaded back into the van again and set out to Williamstown, MA. In this small, secluded university town, Don Zasada, our former head grower here at The Food Project, currently lives and works with his wife Bridget and two year-old daughter Gabriella on Caretaker Farm, a small farm that grows produce and animals using completely sustainable, organic methods.

Sam and Elizabeth Smith, who still own and operate the farm today, bought Caretaker Farm in 1969. Typical vegetables and fruits are the main focuses of the farm (carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes, onions, apples, etc. are all grown), yet in the fields where these are grown, the presence of the animals on the farm can always be felt. Views of cows grazing on the picturesque hillside that overlooks the farms, the free-range chickens in their large movable pens, the sheep that wander through Don’s backyard, and the sounds of the pigs in the barn all add to the vitality of the amazingly productive farm.

Despite only having 7 acres in cultivation, the farm is able to support and attract a 225-member CSA, made up of both people associated with Williams College and many others in the community. The CSA program at Caretaker Farm provides the vast majority of its income, yet it also provides the farm with an unmistakable sense of community and helps Don and his crew of four apprentices with some of the field work, as every share mandates that each adult in the share work at least two hours during the summer on the farm. Working shares, which come at a discount, mandate that each adult in the share give 10 hours of work during the summer. Meat (from the cows, sheep and pigs on the farm) is not included in the price of the share, nor is bread (which is baked fresh three times weekly on the farm by a baker who grinds her own flour), but many people are willing to pay extra for these fresh and organic items. The CSA program at Caretaker Farm is unique because it has become such a social activity for its shareholders, and the shareholders have a very strong connection to the farm. Shareholders must come to the farm in order to pick up their shares, and the U-Pick area is located at the back of the farm, so that shareholders must walk through the farm and enjoy all aspects of it in order to fulfill some of their shares.

Don and Bridget are in “transitional mode” this summer, meaning that they are living at working at Caretaker in order to learn how to best work the land and run a successful business before they buy the farm from Sam and Elizabeth this winter. Sam and Elizabeth will continue to live at Caretaker, and their land will be put in a land trust with restrictions that mandate that the land be actively and organically farmed, but Don and Bridget will buy the buildings and take over the farming operations.

At Caretaker Farm, we took a short tour of the farm and took a swim on the afternoon we got there, spent the night in Don and Bridget’s house, and then woke up early the next morning to feed the pigs and chickens. After breakfast, we weeded beds of carrots and kale (being an organic farmer means Don has a lot of weeds to keep under control) until lunch and then took another swim before hitting the road to our next destination, which was the organic garden at Middlebury College. We left having seen a very successful model of a farm and CSA, and we are indebted to Don and Bridget (and Gabriella) for their hospitality and kindness during our visit.