FARM PROFILE Foggy Hill Farm: Rooted in Community

Christine and Andy Pressman's Foggy Hill Farm logo includes the phrase "Rooted in Community" and an image of a rooting pea plant, a honeybee, and a sun rising from behind Mt. Monadnock. &emsp;The way the Pressmans live and run their Jaffrey farm is evidence of how they embody this message. They grow produce and offer eggs to CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) members, sell and donate additional portions of their harvest to a food pantry, participate in Jaffrey's Farmers' Market, and contribute to Jaffrey Public Library's "Fresh Checkout" program. The library has a refrigerator where donated food from farmers is stored, and people can receive food from there. &emsp;"It fills a gap when the food pantry is not open," Christine says. &emsp;A more recent way they're filling a local need is their partnership with the nonprofit Perfect Peace, an organization formed to help "differently abled" adults. The group has expanded its residential program to include day programs based on the belief that "Everyone should be able to have a fulfilling day at work." This reflects Perfect Peace's vision and mission statements. (Learn more at perfectpeaceincnh.org.) &emsp;One of these programs, "Farm with Christine," provides hands-on learning opportunities at Foggy Hill Farm, including watering, collecting eggs, mowing, mulching, shaping beds and using the wheel hoe. The crew of helpers interested in the farm works three to four hours per week, spread over five mornings. &emsp;"I like it here," says Francis, a crew member who rides his bike there and is a very hard worker, according to the Pressmans. Christine adds that he keeps everyone on task. &emsp;While the crew takes a snack break, the chickens wander about doing as they please. &emsp;"They're the bosses of the farm," Christine jokes. &emsp;Andy keeps bees and makes honey from their six hives, which sells out fast. &emsp;The Pressmans worked and lived at Plowshare Farm in Greenfield and had various other farming experiences before starting Foggy Hill Farm in 2011. They embrace sustainable practices like drip irrigation, which can include organic fertilizer, and they plant cover crops for moisture retention. &emsp;They advocate for knowledge-sharing, farmer networks, conserving natural resources, and resilient communities. This is a natural fit with Andy's position as the Northeast Regional Director of the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT). &emsp;Their farm's scale (market garden size and earnings) requires one of them to work "off farm," Andy explains of his full-time job. He puts in farm time when he's not working for NCAT. &emsp;"We're able to keep costs down by being a 'boots on the ground' farm," Christine notes, in other words, doing the work themselves. &emsp;The Pressmans say they grew their CSA along with their children, starting small and growing. They had a high of 50 members and scaled back this year to 40 to have more produce for the farmers' market. &emsp;"We're very lucky," says Christine. "We have a strong group of customers who have stayed with us for years; very few people leave the CSA." &emsp;She gets to know her customers' favorites, comparing herself to "a bartender, but for foodies." &emsp;Jaffrey is where they chose to base their farm and lives for the strong sense of community and the town's many opportunities for their children. &emsp;"They're free-range kids. The (farm) experience has allowed them to grow up with a lot of confidence," Christine says. &emsp;Maya, their oldest and soon-to-be high school graduate, says all the time that she's the luckiest kid in school, her mom shares. Maya wants to start a farm-based preschool, so she will study at New Hampshire Technical Institute this year. &emsp;Eden, their middle child who's earned a black belt, teaches Taekwondo. They say she is the least likely of their children to garden, but she really "gets" the importance of farming and a local food economy. When younger, she sold dog treats with garden ingredients, while their youngest, Joe, sold popular baked goods. &emsp;When the children's friends visited, they tried vegetables and liked them, much to some of their parents' amazement. &emsp;"Kids love garden-fresh vegetables. They taste very different than store-bought," Christine points out. &emsp;When COVID struck, the Pressmans used a different technology for their CSA that involved people ordering in advance, which allowed them to provide for more customers. People realized that things like food from their local community were a necessity, not a luxury. &emsp; &emsp;"There are hungry people in our community who can't afford to buy produce; we need to step up and take care of them," Christine says. BOX: Foggy Hill Farm 331 Squantum Road Jaffrey, NH 603-593-5325 foggyhillfarmnh.com