Founded in 2013, Footprint Farm is a small farm in most respects. We raise certified Organic vegetables, flowers, and eggs, and sometimes pork that is not certified but is produced using the same organic principles. We have a CSA at the heart of our farm, which is a membership program in which 75 families from our community sign up for a season's worth of produce, eggs, or flowers. In addition, we sell at the Shelburne Farmers Market, a few local restaurants, and we grow and arrange flowers for our Flower CSA.
We (Taylor Hutchison and Jake Mendell) met in 2011 as outdoor educators at a wildly romantic little farm in Northern California. Jake is from Vermont, but he followed the familiar call of the Golden State after studying health and nutrition in college. Taylor studied Public Health in California, spent a year writing grants in Boston, then headed back home to teach kids about food, cooking and goat milking. After a year of teaching kids, and another year working on a farm, an amazing land opportunity popped up in Vermont. Taylor had not planned to move back east again, but agreed to follow Jake to Vermont because he promised that maple syrup flowed from trees and that Vermonters spend their leisure time eating kale and knitting.
Together we make up a pretty great team. Jake manages the animals, monitors our soil health and planting schedules, and keeps our old tractor running. Taylor arranges the flowers, keeps track of the finances, and spends free time organizing events for the Vermont Young Farmers Coalition and working in the local elementary school's mentoring program. The management team is rounded out by our four year old farm dog, Spud. He keeps up the appropriate amount of howling, vole chasing, and hole digging needed on the farm. Each year we also employ one or two farm crew members to help us keep things together on the farm.
We (Taylor Hutchison and Jake Mendell) met in 2011 as outdoor educators at a wildly romantic little farm in Northern California. Jake is from Vermont, but he followed the familiar call of the Golden State after studying health and nutrition in college. Taylor studied Public Health in California, spent a year writing grants in Boston, then headed back home to teach kids about food, cooking and goat milking. After a year of teaching kids, and another year working on a farm, an amazing land opportunity popped up in Vermont. Taylor had not planned to move back east again, but agreed to follow Jake to Vermont because he promised that maple syrup flowed from trees and that Vermonters spend their leisure time eating kale and knitting.
Together we make up a pretty great team. Jake manages the animals, monitors our soil health and planting schedules, and keeps our old tractor running. Taylor arranges the flowers, keeps track of the finances, and spends free time organizing events for the Vermont Young Farmers Coalition and working in the local elementary school's mentoring program. The management team is rounded out by our four year old farm dog, Spud. He keeps up the appropriate amount of howling, vole chasing, and hole digging needed on the farm. Each year we also employ one or two farm crew members to help us keep things together on the farm.
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National Young Farmers Coalition: It's true, we are young and we are farmers! Therefore we are a part of the Vermont Young Farmers Coalition, which helps us keep in touch with other young farmers in the area. The national chapter is involved in awesome things like helping young farmers get land access and student loan forgiveness. In Vermont, the Vermont Young Farmers Coalition hosts events and workshops for young farmers, and works with organizations such as Rural Vermont to address issues that affect farmers at the state level.
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