Charitable farm to produce no more
Santa Fe Community Farm closes down after decades of helping
After a decadeslong run, Santa Fe Community Farm has shut its gates. The Agua Fría-based farm provided tons of locallygrown produce to many of Santa Fe’s food pantries and shelters during the last 20 years. Those involved with the organizations that benefited from the community farm were sad to see it close.
“It was just great to be in New Mexico with all the people who care about feeding the people who can’t feed themselves,” said Tony McCarty, executive director of Kitchen Angels, which prepares and delivers free meals to homebound Northern New Mexicans. “They were more than just a source, they were partners for a lot of years.”
McCarty said that during the partnership the nonprofit received hundreds of pounds of fresh produce during growing season from Santa Fe Community Farm.
However, its website says the 5-acre farm is closed until further notice.
It is unclear why the farm closed, but it seems related to the death of founder John Stephenson in June at age 102. In the late 1940s, Stephenson and his wife expanded their egg ranch into an organic farm with a charitable bent. It became known as the Community Farm in the early 1980s.
“I know John Stephenson really wanted it to succeed and support the community for a very long time,” said Sherry Hooper, executive director of The Food Depot, which annually received 2 tons of produce from the farm. “And those running the farm tried their very
best to see that it would. But they struggled to find the support to continue working the community farm.”
Susan Odiseos, president of Feeding Santa Fe, a volunteerrun food distributor that Stephenson also helped found, said, “For someone who was 102, you can’t be surprised, but somehow you’re never really ready to lose an institution in Santa Fe like John Stephenson. And then the next thing was, ‘Oh my goodness, what are we going to do?’ ”
Although most groups that partnered with the farm don’t expect a significant impact on their operations, Odiseos said the loss of the farm will greatly affect her organization since Feeding Santa Fe has limited resources. The nonprofit delivers bags of food to elderly people and families with young children, and bags delivered next growing season may be less full — or even empty.
The New Mexican reached out to the farm’s board of directors, as well as Stephenson’s two sons, David Stephenson and Roy Stephenson, for comment regarding the future of Santa Fe Community Farm.
The only response came from David Stephenson of Silver City, who did not want to elaborate on future plans for the farm. “We are not really in a position to discuss this publicly at this time,” he said.
On a Dec. 3 thread in the Agua Fría village Facebook group, he wrote that part of the community farm “will have to be sold. We are working with land use planners to determine how best to do this.”
Whatever happens to Santa Fe Community Farm in the future, it’s clear that the closing had an emotional impact on those who were once involved.
“The farm was a rare instance of providing what was wanted and needed, in a completely selfless and beneficial manner,” McCarty said. “The service to Kitchen Angels and the community is basically irreplaceable.”