Support Our Farm's Recovery from Hurricane Damage

Welcome to our Homestead and let me tell you why we are here.

Our Homestead is a small family owned and operated farm in Myakka City, FL and was impacted by the latest CAT 3 Hurricane Milton. We’ve been in business since 2014 and are no stranger to storms. We’ve weathered many, and have had destruction before, but not quite like this.

Our operation runs on several acres (and a team of 5), but the majority of our produce yields come from our climate controlled greenhouses. During Milton, we completely lost one of our 30’x96’ enclosed greenhouses. Our lettuce houses are our livelihood. Losing one of these hasn’t ever happened and has major impact.

Another loss for us was the chicken coop. We recently constructed a massive chicken coop to house 200 chickens in order to provide eggs in addition to our vegetables. That structure was completely shredded to pieces, even with several 800lb attachments in place. Many chickens survived, but they now have no home and are susceptible to the elements and predators.

This hits us hard because we just went all summer with no income, and took out a loan and invested last seasons earnings into a new cucumber greenhouse, chicken coop, farm kitchen space, new well water filtration system, and many many other projects  to improve the farm and make this season our best yet. 

The devastation has a ripple effect. We lost a greenhouse structure, a chicken coop structure, and months of income. Crops like our herbs, three weeks worth of lettuces, zinnias, cucumbers, and pepper plants were demolished. Unfortunately we won’t be able to attend farmers markets or open our online store for at least three weeks.

The amount we are asking for is a starting point to rebuild our greenhouse. Rebuild the chicken coop, and provide the materials and professional labor that are essential to reconstructing those parts of our farm. It doesn’t count for the income lost. Thank you to anyone who has read this and feels inclined to help us continue farming.

As difficult and challenging Florida farming is, we hope to continue our work. To produce a better tasting head of lettuce, that brings nutrition and health to our community that we were born and raised in. Thank you for your consideration.