In 2007, Big Lakes purchased a 20-acre property outside city limits with a farmhouse for four individuals with IDD to live and experience farm life. That same year, a small backyard garden was started as a small employment opportunity for the clients, and the remainder of the farmland was leased to a local farmer to grow corn or soybeans. In 2010, the 20-acre property located next door was purchased, and in 2020, a new home was built on the property to house four young men with co-occurring IDD and mental illness. Today, this small garden has grown to a 1-acre farm we call Zeandale Farm. The farm is growing and supplying our 15 residential homes with produce, canned goods, baked goods, and farm-fresh eggs.
The Zeandale Farm crew, consisting of 18 clients split into a morning and afternoon crews, are paid an hourly wage and supported by farm staff members. They maintain the farm and trained in processing what is grown to make a diverse range of products like salsa, pickles, bread, and much more. Over the past few years, we have increased the number of garden plots we are utilizing, increased the amount of fresh produce and canned products that we provide to the houses, and experimented with products that we hope to sell to the community in the future. The variety of products we grow and create at the farm is a source of excitement and fascination for us all.
“I enjoy how much the clients love coming to the farm. The excitement they get about what we are growing and the things that we create makes me excited to come to work every day,” said Brittany, Farm Service Coordinator.
This year, we have provided herbs, potatoes, corn, peppers, asparagus, peas, tomatoes, spinach, squash, and more to our 15 residential homes in the Manhattan community.
“A future goal for the farm is to not only to have enough produce, eggs, canned goods and bakery items to sustain our residential homes but also have a client managed shop or booth at the farmers market,” shared Brittany.
Interested in learning more about the Zeandale Farm? Schedule a tour today by reaching out to Emma at eclements@biglakes.org.
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