09/11/2026
Dear Friends,
After 24 seasons of growing vegetables and feeding our community, I’ve made the decision that 2026 will be the final growing season for Park Ridge Organics.
That is a strange — and very difficult — sentence to write.
This farm has grown and changed so many times over the past two decades — and so have I. What started as a farm became so much more: a farm store, CSA, online ordering, plant sales, wholesale relationships, partnerships with other local producers, and an incredible community of customers, employees, farmers, vendors and friends.
There is a lot of sadness in making this decision. Farming has been such a huge part of my life and my identity for more than two decades, and walking away from something I have poured so much of myself into is not easy.
At the same time, I know this is the right decision for me and my family. Alongside the sadness, I feel an enormous amount of pride and gratitude for what has been built here — and I am genuinely excited about whatever comes next.
I will miss the absolute beauty of a clean field and the satisfaction of watching something grow from seed to harvest. I’ll miss walking through fields full of food and seeing all of that potential — food that is going to people who want it, need it and appreciate it.
But after 24 seasons, one thing has become very clear to me:
The best part of Park Ridge Organics has always been the people.
Some of you have been customers since the very beginning. That is pretty incredible to think about. Others found us somewhere along the way and became familiar faces and names that I have looked forward to seeing season after season. I’ve watched families grow, kids grow up, and new generations become part of the farm. I’ve formed relationships with fellow farmers, local businesses, vendors and community partners that never would have happened without this farm.
And then there are the many people who have worked here.
Over the years, so many people have spent a season — or several — working in the fields, greenhouse, pack shed, farm store and everywhere in between. Their work has been a tremendous part of making Park Ridge Organics what it became, but getting to know and work alongside all of them has also been an amazing part of this experience for me personally.
Our current crew has been part of this transition as well, and they're looking forward to moving on to their own next chapters and futures. I am incredibly grateful for this crew and for every person who has been part of Park Ridge Organics over the years.
And I can't tell the story of Park Ridge Organics without talking about my parents.
They started this farm. They gave me the opportunity to take something they had begun and make it my own, and then supported me through all the years that followed. They have been woven into this place and into my experience of farming from the very beginning.
My mom, especially, is very much on my mind as I make this decision.
She always knew there was more in me than farming. She knew that being a farmer wasn't necessarily going to be my stop in my working life. She saw other things in me — other ways I could contribute, lead, help people and make a difference — sometimes before I was ready to see them myself.
And, quietly, that next part has actually already been growing.
Most of you probably don't know much about the work I do when I'm not growing your vegetables. Over the past several years, I've become increasingly involved in work beyond Park Ridge Organics. I've worked one-on-one with other farmers on their businesses and finances, helped farms learn and troubleshoot the technology they use to sell their products, served on agricultural boards and committees, managed and worked with grants, presented at conferences and workshops, and helped other farmers think through some of the same business and management challenges I've spent the last 24 years navigating here.
I've discovered that I really love that work.
I love helping farmers figure things out. I love looking at a business, its numbers and its systems and helping someone see a path forward. I love teaching and sharing what I've learned. And I've realized that the experience I've gained running this farm — not just growing vegetables, but managing people, finances, marketing, technology, grants, infrastructure and all the decisions that come with running a small business — has given me something valuable to offer beyond my own fields.
In many ways, Park Ridge Organics has been preparing me for whatever comes next all along.
My mom knew that.
I wish she were here for this next part. But I also know that her legacy doesn't end because Park Ridge Organics is ending its growing seasons. It is alive in this farm, in me, in my family, and in so much of what I will carry forward from this experience.
She knew I still had more to give.
I'm finally ready to find out exactly what that looks like.
And to answer one question I know many of you will immediately have: No, I am not selling the farm!
This is our home.
For the first time in a very long time, I get to look at this land without immediately thinking about what needs to be planted where next year. I'm looking forward to experiencing this beautiful place differently, spending more time with my family, continuing the work I've begun beyond the farm, figuring out what else comes next and, frankly, having a much less busy front yard. :)
There is sadness in closing this chapter. A lot of it. But there is also excitement in having the space to begin another one.
There will be plenty more to say about 24 seasons of Park Ridge Organics. There are stories I want to tell, memories I want to share and many people who deserve a proper thank-you. I'll save some of that for later.
Because we aren't done yet.
In fact, we still have a lot of this season left! The farm store is open and ready for business, and we plan to keep it that way through approximately November 21st. Fall is one of the best times of the year here, with plenty still coming out of the fields and lots of great food from the other local producers we work with. So please keep shopping, keep ordering, keep using those Farm Credits, and keep coming out to see us. We're looking forward to a busy and beautiful final fall at Park Ridge Organics — and we would love to share it with all of you.
For those of you with Farm Credits, I also want to make sure you have plenty of information and opportunity to use your remaining balance before we close for the season in mid November. Remember that you can use your credits for weekly Online Store ordering which will run through October, maybe longer. And don't forget you can currently use credits to purchase vegetables at our In Person store. Starting in October, we will have a more robust inventory of non-veg items available for purchase using Farm Credits. More to come on that closer to October.
For now, I mostly want to say thank you.
Thank you for buying our vegetables. Thank you for trusting us to grow your food. Thank you for showing up year after year — and, for some of you, for all 24 of them. Thank you for supporting this little organic farm and allowing me to spend 24 seasons doing work that has shaped so much of my life.
What an incredible thing it has been.
— Robyn
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