Spotlight on Elmer Farm
We’re shining this week’s Co-op Spotlight on Elmer Farm — a 90-acre certified organic farm right here in East Middlebury. Member-owners can take 20% off their organic vegetables from November 12–18.
Elmer Farm has deep roots in this community. The land has been farmed since the early 1800s, and today, the team continues that legacy by growing a wide variety of organic vegetables, flowers, and herbs. They farm about eight acres in crops and keep the rest in rotating cover crop to support long-term soil health — a practice that protects the land for future generations.
If you’ve ever driven along Route 116, you’ve probably noticed the farmhouse and flower beds marking the entrance to the farm. What you don’t see from the road are the fields tucked just beyond — fertile sandy loam soils left by glacier retreat, now home to more than 35 types of vegetables and hundreds of seed varieties, including many heirlooms. Everything is grown organically and inspected annually by Vermont Organic Farmers.
Beyond feeding their CSA members and supplying local stores (including us!), Elmer Farm is an important partner in increasing food access in our community. Years back, they joined HOPE, local farmers, ACORN, Middlebury College, and local businesses to build a program connecting surplus farm produce with the HOPE food shelf. What started as an idea around a table has grown into a system that brings thousands of pounds of fresh vegetables to neighbors who need them — while reducing food waste.
At the Co-op, you’ll find Elmer Farm’s organic cabbage (red, green, and napa), kale, onions, squash (butternut and delicata), baby bok choy, radishes, leeks, chard, garlic, turnips, rutabagas, beets, parsnips — and, of course, their standout carrots.Stop by, stock up, and support a farm that helps keep our local food system strong.
