Foppema’s Farm had its beginnings in 1983 when I decided to leave my full-time job at a local orchard and start my own farming operation. We owned 3 acres of land at our home on Burdon Street, Sutton, and we rented 7 acres of land on Boston Road, also in Sutton. During that first year, we raised strawberries, sweet corn, tomatoes, squash and cucumbers. We sold the strawberries “Pick-Your-Own” on our Burdon Street property and the rest of the vegetables we sold from a trailer we set up at the end of our driveway. My wife, Lisa worked selling our produce while I worked in the fields growing it. What we couldn’t sell directly to customers, we wholesaled to local grocery stores.
In 1986, we were able to purchase 43 acres of farmland on Hill Street in Northbridge. This land was an answer to prayer for us as we were in desperate need of additional land to grow our crops on as well as a better location to sell our produce from. The farm on Hill Street even came with a building that became our first farmstand. We felt so blessed to be able to own our own farm and were so thankful to God, our families and all the faithful customers who made our dreams come true.
Since those early days, we have grown in many ways. Our current acreage is 75 acres on Hill Street. We were able to purchase more land adjacent to ours that was originally part of what was historically known as the Adams Farm. Our family has grown as well. We have four sons (Jesse, Evan, Lucas and Samuel) and a daughter-in-law (Jesse’s wife, Kelly). Jesse and Evan are full-time on the farm with us.
We outgrew our farmstand as the business grew and built a new one just down the street in order to allow for better parking and more space to sell our produce. We are enjoying our new post and beam building, built in 1998 and added onto in 2006. Our product line has also expanded to include seven types of fruit and over 40 different vegetables. We enjoy trying something new each year. Come on out and enjoy!
Ken Foppema, owner
