Owners James Meinecke and Becky McWilliams purchased the Lewis Farm from Harry Lewis in mid-August 2016, relocating to New Hampshire with their three dogs from a small house on a quarter acre lot in Quincy, Mass.
“We went from having one backyard greenhouse to 40 acres of farm fields and ten commercial greenhouses overnight, so the production scale is much, much bigger!” Meinecke said.
In addition to larger scale produce farming, McWilliams and Meinecke hope to provide educational opportunities to the local community. They hosted their first school field trip in September, where a high school biology class learned about the germination process, plant maintenance, harvesting, and composting food waste.
The pair met while studying architecture at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, and they spent the past five years fixing up a foreclosure before moving to Concord. McWilliams is a small business owner and currently runs a residential architecture firm. They have high hopes for renovating the 1880 farmhouse for both living and business opportunities. She is looking forward to putting in a commercial kitchen. “We can redirect seconds produce and sell our own sauces and salsa from our Farm Stand,” McWilliams said.
Lewis Farm will grow crops year-round. The winter produce will be grown in their “underground” greenhouse, sunk 10 feet below ground. Lewis Farm also plans to sell produce at the Cole Gardens market this winter. The public is invited to meet the new owners at its free open house Oct. 8.
To raise funds for refrigeration equipment, they are also hosting a Farm to Table Dinner in late October. For more information, visit
lewisfarmconcord.com.
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