The Farm

Kitchen Garden Farm is located in the heart of the Pioneer Valley, the prime agricultural region of Western Massachusetts. The farm consists of 50 acres of rich river bottom soil with fields on both sides of the Connecticut River, in Sunderland and Whately. The farm's home base is located on S. Silver Lane in the center of Sunderland, about five miles from UMASS Amherst.

Caroline and Tim started the farm in 2006 on 1 acre of rented land, and expanded it to 65 acres before transferring it to longtime employees Lilly and Max in 2023. Lilly and Max are committed to growing quality vegetables and healthy soils by cultivating a wide range of biodiverse crops, improving crop rotation and cover cropping.   

Our Growing Practices

Our growing practices reflect our deep commitment to the quality of our products, the health of our land and the safety of our workers. We only use natural products and sustainable techniques to grow our vegetables. Our farm is USDA certified organic by Baystate Organic Certifiers and Real Organic certified by the Real Organic Project. Healthy soils grow better tasting, more nutritious food.

Lilly Israel

Lilly grew up in New York City and moved to Western Mass to study Agriculture and Natural Resource Economics at UMass Amherst. During college she worked on the UMass Student Farm and with the UMass Permaculture Initiative. After graduation she managed the permaculture gardens at UMass for two years before coming to work at Kitchen Garden Farm in 2016. When she’s not farming Lilly loves foraging, taxidermy, and musical theater.

Max Traunstein

Max grew up in Granby MA. He began working as a farmhand at Brookfield Farm in Amherst, MA as his first job in 2007. This experience ignited a passion for working in vegetable production, which led him to study agriculture as an undergrad at Hampshire College (Amherst) and UMass Amherst. He worked at both the Hampshire College Farm (CSA), and UMass Student Farm while in school. 

Max received a B.A. in Sustainable Food and Farming at UMass in 2014, and started working at Kitchen Garden Farm that same year.