Taylor

Taylor has been balancing being a mother of 3 and farming for several years. Before joining the ESF team in 2018, she worked at Radical Roots Farm (Rutland) and Alchemy Gardens (Shrewsbury.) It always brings so much to the team to have farmers who have learned different ways of doing things at other veggie farms. She also spent many years in different roles at the Rutland Area Food Co-op, which helped our farm develop our “retailer” eyes. She farms because she wants to help feed her community and her soul. She says she has “yet to find a job that I enjoy more than organic vegetable farming. I love the planet, the people, the vegetables, and the hard work. Farming at Evening Song Farm, I found a family that I love and that I’m blessed to be a part of.” As a vegan, she eats a lot of veggies, and her favorite ways to eat them are in a raw salad or a homemade soup. She just loves taking whatever is in the fridge to make a tasty and nutritious meal for her family.

Cindy

Cindy had a nearly 40-year career as a technician at General Electric working the overnight shift, and then retired to become a farmer. Besides being a big part of the ESF team, she also helps Plew Farm (Mount Holly) with weekly chicken processing in the summer. Her skills are prolific, but she is best known on the farm for being the person who keeps us all seeing the joy around us. Cindy keeps her own bountiful garden, enjoys pre-pandemic travels, and spending time with the people she loves. She is an avid hiker, snowshoer, and paddler. She is a passionate supporter of local food, and sources most of the food she doesn’t grow herself here or at home from other area farms.

Katie

Katie works part time on the ESF team, with the rest of her time devoted to Alchemy Gardens (Shrewsbury.) She grew up in West Rutland and studied anthropology in college which cultivated a strong interest in exploring the world. Before moving back to Vermont, Katie lived in New York City, working for the rooftop farm, Gotham Greens, growing salad greens and herbs. Her many years of experience on various farm operations has shaped her into the effective, skilled, efficient farmer that she is. Before the pandemic, Katie had been an avid traveler, sneaking away during slower farming months to experience a new corner of the earth. Katie has future dreams of becoming a sailor during the slower vegetable farming months, and pursuing her travel passion on a boat.

Galen

Galen and her family live on the same road as the farm, and it was a fantastic addition to have our neighbor join the ESF team in 2022. She keeps the team well nourished with the best baked goods ever created, (that is not hyperbole), and also leads us in yoga that perfectly fits the needs of farmer bodies. Alongside parenting and the various jobs and pursuits of her life, she has been farming in some form for most of her adult life; currently growing magical food and flower gardens right next door to all these ESF fields. She brings her strengths of being able to do and learn anything that she wants to, bright smiles, thoughtful effectiveness, and reliability to the team.

K2

K2 joined the team in 2022, and splits her time as a farmer and running coach. When she is not farming or momming two awesome kids, she is probably running. Very long distances. Like, very, very, very long distances. K2 is an ultramarathoner, and is slated to run a 50-miler this fall, which won’t be much more than a year after she broke 14 bones in her neck, back, and leg from a mountain biking accident. She is an incredible source of inspiration for anyone in her orbit: Delightfully upbeat, hilarious (especially skilled at puns), super thoughtful and kind, and makes you feel like you can aspire to anything.

Vanessa

Vanessa joined the ESF team for her first season in 2022. She met Kara’s brother in 2015 while he was traveling in her home city of Medellín, Colombia, and they eventually got married. She and Kara’s brother built a homestead in the Amazon jungle region of Putumayo, Colombia. Now she splits her time between Colombia and Evening Song Farm during the main growing season. She is a creative artist, professional seamstress, fantastic cook, unflappable tía, lover of plants, hilarious friend, and essential farm team member. She loves to dance, swim, curate spaces, and explore plant magic.

Uncle Bryan

Bryan worked his first ESF season with us in 2015 before moving to Colombia and starting a farming homestead in the jungle region of Putamayo with his wife Vanessa. He rejoined the ESF team in 2023, splitting his time between Vermont and Colombia. He brings his incredible ability of tackling any new project head on, learning as he goes. Bryan has a passion for creating delicious meals from farm grown food, swimming when he’s not farming, learning new skills, being the most engaging uncle, and often being the life of the party.

Nonna and Grandpa Jim

Besides Grandpa Jim doing most of the deliveries, getting veggies from the farm to all the places they need to go, both Nonna and Grandpa Jim provide so much childcare for Kara and Ryan. Although it was undoubtedly nerve-wracking when their daughter announced that she was starting a small vegetable farm, they continued to be Kara’s biggest cheerleader throughout this adventure. Grandpa Jim spent his life modeling the challenges and joys of being self-employed, and Nonna kept elaborate, beautiful, and delicious gardens. So in many ways it was their example that let Kara find her way into farming. When they aren’t taking care of the kids or delivering veggies, they are probably hiking, kayaking, or snowshoeing. Nonna also continues to squeeze artistic projects into her life after being an art teacher many years ago.

Grandparents make the world go round.