🌱 Roots to Market
The Genesis of York Meadow Farm 📜
First, we’d like to thank you.
Your support has been instrumental in propelling us toward the remarkable successes and transformative changes we are currently witnessing. It brings us immense joy to share that our family farm and farmers’ market booth has flourished to such an extent that we find ourselves in the midst of significant business restructuring.
We’re thrilled to share it with you.
Our previous email newsletter consisted of a quick check in and to provide you with updates on winter markets, retail locations, and the upcoming “look back and look ahead” email. If you missed it, you can read it here, and you can also see all of our previous newsletters in our Email Campaign Archive.
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We're thrilled to bring you a special series titled "🌱 Celebrating Our Journey: From Family Farm to Co-op Success Story." As we've welcomed many new customers in recent years, we realized that not everyone knows the rich history behind our homestead. That's why we're excited to share it with you in this three-part blog series.
In this inaugural post, we'll take you back to the very beginning, detailing the history of York Meadow Farm, how it all started, and the journey that led us to our first appearance at a Farmers’ Market in 2011.
So grab a coffee, settle in, and join us as we dive into our story. ☕
We're immensely grateful to have you along for the ride.
The Founders
While you can find a condensed version of our history on "The Founders" page of our website, we want to take this opportunity to dive deeper into the farm's story and celebrate the founders of York Meadow Farm – Bob and Denise Kaiser.
(Photo 08/07/2013)
Robert J. Kaiser, Jr. and Denise Kaiser purchased the land where York Meadow Farm is located in Medina, Ohio in 2005 with the intent of building their retirement home. At that time, part of the land was being conventionally farmed in grain, as it had been for decades.
After a couple of seasons of observing conventional farming, Bob and Denise wished to retain some farming related activities on the land, but not in the way it had been historically farmed.
Maurice Small
Thanks to Mom's role as a nurse in Cleveland, she had cultivated a connection with Maurice Small, who was involved with City Fresh, a non-profit organization partnering with the hospital to promote a healthier local food system.
Maurice's passion for sustainable agriculture, wellness, and community, coupled with his extensive knowledge of the local farmers' market landscape, became instrumental in assisting Bob and Denise in crafting a vision to transform the land into something beyond our wildest dreams.
Following consultations with Maurice, the decision was made to establish a small market garden for quick-turnover crops while also nurturing fruit trees and berry plants for a sustainable, long-term harvest.
With plans in motion, Bob and Denise wasted no time. They rallied the family together to plant the initial seeds and bring this vision to life. Their three children (Rob, Matt, and Kate) were notified of the plans to become market farmers and they got to work.
By this time, Bob and Denise had sold the home that the kids were raised in and had moved to Medina, living in a rental house and saving money to build the future dream home. Despite living out of state at this time, whenever the kids returned home, there was always work to be done at the future homestead. During the holidays in these early years, we would discuss a name for the property, and the name “York Meadow Farm” was voted on.
Periodically, the kids would fly home for significant projects. For example, when the first plants were put in the ground, the family, along with some assistance from Bob’s brother Tom and his wife Laurel, managed to get +100 blueberry plants of three different varieties planted in the ground one weekend in June 2010.
During this time, Rob was living in California and dating a very talented graphic designer, Alicia. Witnessing the excitement Rob shared with her about what his parents were doing, she crafted a logo for the new family business. At Christmas in 2010, she delivered the logos that you have come to know and love, and gifted Bob and Denise the very first market sign, one that is still in use to this very day.
Logo courtesy of Alicia Parrott , 2010
In the wake of a season filled with experimentation growing vegetables in the market garden in 2010, Bob and Denise found themselves armed with valuable insights as they geared up to bring their harvest to market for the first time the following year. As the winter months unfolded, Denise began exploring and making various all-natural bath and body products, while Bob embarked on a journey of bread baking, particularly with the creation of his own sourdough from scratch.
These diverse product lines were part of a plan that enabled them to diversify their offerings at the onset of the market season, before their garden crops were ripe for harvest. With increased confidence about being vendors at the local farmers’ market, they applied and were accepted as vendors, marking York Meadow Farm’s very first appearance at the Medina Farmers Market in 2011, held on Saturday mornings in the center of the Medina Public Square Historic District.
Bob and Denise found themselves in a prime position to fine-tune their market offerings, thanks to the thoughtful gesture of having their logo and market signage already created and generously gifted to them. Right from the start, collaboration and partnerships played a pivotal role in their journey. We will be eternally grateful for Alicia and her invaluable contribution, which proved instrumental in preparing Bob and Denise for their inaugural market season in 2011.
Meanwhile, Rob stepped into the role of remotely assisting with the social media aspect of York Meadow Farm in April 2011. Filled with pride for his parents and the meaningful work they were undertaking, he eagerly shared their journey, while creating an online community through Facebook. Many of the captivating photos featured in this blog post have been chronicled in our Facebook history.
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During this time, the kids were spread all across the country. Rob was living in California, Matt was living in Florida, and Kate was living in Texas. Everyone was pursuing their own careers and lives. However, a strong love for family and a growing interest in what Bob and Denise were doing led each of the kids to eventually move back home closer to family. Matt moved back to Ohio in August of 2011, and Kate moved back to Ohio in June of 2012. Rob returned in October 2013. It was a blessing to be together again.
Matt and Kate have since married and are now proud parents themselves, bringing their own distinct skills and talents to the homestead as they nurture and expand their families.
As for me, Rob, I’ve made York Meadow Farm my home and workplace, and I’m excited to share the story of our family and our homestead with you. My objective is to provide a clear picture of our family’s roots to where we stand today, and some of our dreams for the future. I’m here to give you an intimate glimpse into our journey and what we’re trying to do here with this land and with our lives, together, as a family.
This blog post was designed to provide a bit of history regarding our homestead at York Meadow Farm...and everything that led up to our very first season at the Medina Farmers' Market. Stay tuned for the second blog post in this three part series, where we will share our journey with you over the last decade, bringing you current to last season. The final blog post will share what’s in store for the 2024 season and beyond as we continue building our dreams into reality here at York Meadow Farm.
Whether you’ve been with us for years, or you’re just discovering us, you’re part of our story.
On behalf of the family, we appreciate you and we thank you,
Rob
Stay tuned for Part 2 of the series!