Our Farm's Journey
Rooted in Land, Grown Through Community
The Phillies Bridge Farm Project was started as a non-profit organization in 1999, after the visionary Working Group on Family Farms leased land to create a demonstration farm that would focus on ecologically sound farming techniques and community education.
This developed into the Phillies Bridge Farm Project, and in 2002, the farm's owners, James and Mary Ottaway, donated the farm to the nonprofit organization.
In 2022, board member Steve Goodman spearheaded a deep dive into the farm's forgotten history. You can read the full document, titled Making Visible the Erased History of our Farm and Community, here.
Our Commitment
Located on 65 scenic acres in New Paltz, NY, Phillies Bridge Farm Project includes five acres of cultivated land used to grow vegetables, herbs, and flowers with sustainable farming practices, in addition to an Education Garden, an interactive Children's Discovery Garden, and 45 acres of woods and wetlands that feature a 1.5 mile self-guided nature trail that is open to the public.
At Phillies Bridge Farm, our mission is to create a sustainable community centered around food justice and education. We aim to empower individuals and families through access to fresh produce, while fostering a deeper understanding of agricultural practices and their importance.
We offer a summer and winter CSA, summer camp, field trips, adult education, nature walks, and more! Check out our agriculture and education pages to learn more about our offerings! We hope you see YOU at the farm!
Shared Leadership at Phillies Bridge
Phillies Bridge Farm Project works with a non-hierarchical shared leadership model. Shared leadership is an organizational approach in which responsibility, decision-making, and accountability are distributed across a team rather than centered in a single individual. By drawing on the strengths, expertise, and perspectives of multiple leaders, shared leadership supports collaboration, transparency, and resilience. This model allows organizations to respond more thoughtfully to challenges, avoid burnout, and build long-term sustainability. At its core, shared leadership values trust, communication, and a collective commitment to the mission.
Meet the Team
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
At the Phillies Bridge Farm Project, we are deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all of our work—and to creating a safe, welcoming, and loving community on the farm. We strive for inclusive representation on our board and staff, equitable decision-making processes, and the delivery of programs that promote racial and economic justice. As an agricultural institution, we feel it is our responsibility to acknowledge and actively fight against the systemic exploitation and disenfranchisement of people of color when it comes to land access and farming. We do not discriminate—or tolerate discrimination or disrespectful behavior—on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of our activities or operations.
In 2020, Phillies Bridge initiated a formal process of self-reflection and situating our organizational and personal histories in the context of systemic inequality. That fall we hired a professional racial justice educator to lead the board in two Diversity and Inclusion training sessions. As a result of this work, we started the process of reimagining how our organization could actively build and maintain an inclusive environment and be a more effective ally to the community across all our differences. We began to hold regular racial equity meetings where we discuss the next steps and examine anti-racism on personal and organizational levels.
In an effort to hold ourselves accountable, we have committed to work toward the following goals:
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Develop a means to evaluate our progress toward becoming a more inclusive institution;
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Review and develop policies to promote a more inclusive and equitable environment;
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Involve members with a breadth of experiences and identities on our board, staff, committees, education programs, and CSA;
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Continue to partner with organizations that are experts in the needs of their local communities; and
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Reexamine the history of the farm through an anti-racist lens.
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In 2023, 30% of the produce grown at Phillies Bridge will be going to participants in our food justice programs, which serve low-income families and historically disadvantaged groups.
Feedback from our community members is crucial to our success. Phillies Bridge has a range of committees, all of which are deeply involved in realizing important organization-wide changes. Please reach out to us at info@philliesbridge.org if you are interested in joining a committee or have perspectives you would like to share with us.
This statement is a working document. We will make updates and revisions as we learn more about our history and make progress towards our goals.
Last revised February 27, 2023