New Organic Produce Farmstand and Buyer's Club Open for Business

"There's definitely a high demand for organic produce in the area, but I think that the local food and farming movement is still developing here," says Douglass DeCandia, 24, one of the new faces in a generation of young farmers committed to building community through sustainable agriculture in Westchester.  

DeCandia, founder of Digger's East Farmstand at Ryder Farm in Brewster, recently launched an organic produce "buyer's club" and a weekly farmstand that takes place on Wednesday mornings at Katonah Yoga in Bedford Hills, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The stand is self-serve from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. 

Beyond bringing an abundance of greens, snap peas, tomatoes, cucumbers and squash to his loved ones and neighbors, DeCandia was driven to establish Digger's East by a desire to bring the food system back to its agrarian roots, and to share his knowledge and passion for responsible, sustainable agriculture with the community he grew up in. 

"I always knew I wanted to come back to this area after college," says DeCandia, who grew up in Katonah and graduated from John Jay High School in 2004. "I intentionally chose to do this work that I love in Westchester because I think we can use some momentum among young farmers."

DeCandia first became interested in agriculture as a student at the University of Vermont, where he was a resident of Slade Hall, the campus's "environmental food cooperative."  The community of students at Slade and his environmental studies coursework inspired DeCandia to "become more aware of what I was eating and the effects of my actions in general." 

This new sense of consciousness and responsibility naturally led to an investigation of where exactly his food was coming from, and ultimately a transfer to Warren Wilson's renowned sustainable agriculture degree program.

After completing his studies in 2009, DeCandia began the search for his own land. Despite the high cost of real estate and densely forested and hilly terrain, DeCandia found longtime farmer Herbert "Hall" Gibson through a friend and the help of the Westchester Land Trust farmer's network.  Gibson has been operating Ryder Farm on Starr Ridge road in Brewster for the past three decades.

DeCandia went to work at Ryder Farm weekly, preparing to take over the reigns from Hall and cultivating nearly an acre of harvestable produce in exchange for room and board.

"Hall is respected as one of the pioneers of the organic food movement in the area, and he was one of the first farmers to bring organic produce down to Union Square's Green Market," said  DeCandia.

Though more than a half-century apart in age, the two shared the same ideals and outlook for the farm, including an emphasis on community and close contact with customers. 

The two men also made the decision not to pursue traditional organic certification because they believed it was more important for people to come out and see for themselves how their food was grown and to look beyond the label. 

Just five months after his first visit, in addition to participating in every function of the farm's operation, DeCandia is also the proud owner of three baby goats--"the girls" as he lovingly refers to Hazel, Hickory and Magnolia--and a colony of bees and a brood of young chickens.  As the animals mature, their raw milk, eggs, and honey will eventually go on market as well.

DeCandia puts in long days tilling, planting, harvesting and distributing food in order to meet community demand, which he feels has only increased since the close of the community market at John Jay High School market in May.

In addition to the buyer's club, in which members can email DeCandia specific produce orders based on weekly availability, and the Wednesday market at Katonah Yoga, Digger's East supplies produce to Table Local Market in Bedford Hills, the Country Farmers Market, Mt. Kisco Day Care and eventually hopes to serve patients at the Northern Westchester Hospital in Mt. Kisco in the future.

"Ultimately, my goal is to be an advocate for the low-income community and to help bring high quality produce to everyone," DeCandia insists, "not just those who can afford to shop at Mrs. Green's [Natural Market]."

"I really want people to come out to see the farm, to talk about different methods of food production, and hopefully to help inspire other young people in the area to begin growing as well," says DeCandia in a moment of thoughtful contemplation as he waited for a loaf of bread to finish baking in the old farmhouse kitchen.

"It's a lot of work, but so far it hasn't been too overwhelming," he grinned. "I'm getting to do what I really love."

To join the Digger's East buyer's club, email DeCandia at dougdecandia@gmail.com, or visit him on the farm at 404 Starr Ridge Road in Brewster.