A Note from Farmer Rebecca:

I grew up on our land, in rural Ingham County, helping grow our small veggie patch and flowers, the only child of Paul and Rose Titus. "Helping" on the farm in those days was mostly playing with the cats or dogs and letting my imagination run wild in the untamed woods surrounding the fields. Occasionally, I was interrupted by fetching something for mom and dad, or going to a farmers market only to sit under the table and observe. Times were not always great but, my parents made the farm work, while they maintained part to full-time jobs. 

As I grew, 4-H and later, FFA shaped who I am and cultivated my sense of hard work, born not of words but deeds, while pledging my hands to make the world a better place.

I was the first in my family to attend college and Michigan State University to boot! While a freshman at Michigan State University, my father suffered a major heart-related medical issue. We didn't have insurance. We had fallen through the cracks...

The bills were mounting, and seeds and supplies needed to be purchased for the following spring. Should I quit college and get a full-time job? Do we let the bank have the farm only to lose my dream of returning to the farm one day?

Purchasing farmland is incredibly difficult for new and beginning farmers, and I knew that the farm I loved would be lost forever.

My dad probably wouldn't be well enough to help much that next spring, but we needed a way to create cash flow quickly. I learned about Community Supported Agriculture from my instructors, Corie Pierce and John Biernbaum. With their help, I sought to start my own CSA to have enough money to stay afloat until I could harvest a few crops and Dad was well again.

In the summer of 2005, the CSA was born! It's been a wild ride, and I'm so thankful to have my family by my side. My parents are still heavily involved in day-to-day decisions, even as they reach their late 70's, which amazes me daily. 

The farm will never be perfect, but we continue to try daily to make it better, more sustainable, and more resilient to the changes around us. I could never express how grateful I am to the families who eat our food and support our family, who helped us save our farm for the next generation.