Healthy Soil, Deep Roots

Our urban farm is deeply connected to the land, the community, and the history of this region. A group of committed community members founded PFP in 1999 and we have grown that community for the last 16 years. Our farm the heart of our organization, and the home of our land-based learning programs that serve youth and educators in our region, and train the next generation of farmers.

continuing a legacy

For nearly 100 years, Vassar College has farmed the land that is now home to Poughkeepsie Farm Project. In the early 1900s, Vassar acquired this land and relocated their farm here from its previous location. In those days, the farm had a dairy, poultry operation, greenhouses, stables, storage barns and farm houses. It provided milk, cream, and vegetables for the college, and grain and fodder for the cattle and poultry. Many of those old buildings are still in use today, including the old creamery, which now houses PFP's office and the chicken coop, where our greenhouse currently stands;

PFP is surrounded by Vassar College's 500 acre Ecological Preserve. This diverse habitat boasts streams, forests, open fields, wetlands, ponds, and forests, and is home to a variety of wildlife. The farm benefits from this biodiversity through beneficial insects, pollinators, and predatory birds, such as red-tailed hawks, which help keep down the pest population and add to the farm's beauty.

Healthy Food Starts with Healthy Soil

The farm is lucky to have ideal soil for growing food. Our soil, classified as Hoosic gravelly loam, was formed from deposits carried by receding glaciers during the last Ice Age tens of thousands of years ago. This class of soil is very well-drained, meaning it dries out quickly. This allows us to begin farming early in the season, as soon as the snow melts.

PFP soil is also rock-free and extremely rich in organic matter. We have spent the last 16 years building our soil by using compost, cover crops, organic fertilizers, and other practices that improve soil fertility and provide optimum conditions for plant health.

What is Certified Naturally Grown?

PFP has been Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) since 2008. CNG is a program that certifies farms as using environmentally sustainable growing practices. CNG standards are based on the USDA National Organic Program and prohibit farms from using synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, antibiotics, hormones or genetically modified organisms. Certifications are based on peer-to-peer inspections, meaning that inspections are carried out by other farmers. For more information, visit naturallygrown.org.

CSA distributions for shareholders are on Tuesdays from 2:30 pm - 6:30pm & Saturdays from 9am - 12pm.
Items you can choose for your weekly shares throughout the season include:

Click on the crop to discover recipes and/or prep tips...or submit your own recipe here!