Thornbury Farm has been a Chester County fixture for 300
years, and owner Randell Spackman and his family want to keep it going,
combining traditional organic agriculture with the trend of buying locally.

 The farm is taking part in the community supported
agriculture, a nationwide program where local residents buy shares in a local
farm’s growing season, or the production year as Spackman calls the time from
June to October.

 “It’s local for local people,” he said. “We go directly to
the local community and get them involved.”

 That involvement includes buying a share in the farms
production in exchange for getting fresh produce every week, or every two weeks
with a half share.

 The farm has 65 to 100 members, he said. A full share this
year cost $550, a half share was $350.

 According to Spackman, there are advantages for both the
farm and the public.

 The advantage to the farm, he said, is that it keeps the
land in production so the farm becomes useful as a working farm and avoids
development.

 “It preserves the land, gives the land a definition, a use,
a goal,” he said. “It keeps the heritage going.”

It also helps the local community.

 “We actually meet our neighbors and people can see the farm,
get on the farm rather than just drive by and think pretty thoughts. They can
actually get involved in the farm activities and that creates a lot of
awareness. Another nice thing is that members get to buy their food locally,
it’s fresh, and it’s organic. And they get to meet their other neighbors.

 Full share members get first choice of the variety of
produce picked that week. They pick up on Thursday afternoons. The rest is sold
to the general public at a stand on Saturdays near Route 926 and S. New Street.

 Members also get recipes e-mailed to them so they’ll know
how to prepare what’s coming next.

 Spackman said a full share usually provides enough food for
three or four people for the weeks.

 Next year Spackman will build an outdoor classroom with a
beehive oven and will offer classes for members in bread making, canning and
candle making, stargazing and a class on the Battle of Brandywine.

 The farm has been in the family for three generations, but
it goes back 300 years and was part of the 1777 battle site. It was used as a
hospital area and there are some battle graves on the property.

 “We’ll be doing more as a whole educational series to create
community involvement. That’s really what it’s all about, to get people
together, plus to get good, ripe quality food.”

 He said that much of the food in supermarkets travels 1,200
miles on average from farm to market. “Ours travels 200 feet.”

 He admits that the produce may cost a bit more, but that,
for now at least, is because organic farming is more labor intensive than
standard commercial farming. But, the food is fresh and organic, he said.

 “We have five people producing food for six families. Five
people could produce enough food for hundreds of families on a typical
[commercial] farm on mass production. This is very high quality, low
production.”

 And while this production year has several months to go,
Spackman is already getting ready to plant next season’s early crop of onions,
salad greens, Chinese cabbage, broccoli and other vegetables.

 Spackman’s grandfather Herb Spackman bought the farm in the
1940s. Randell Spackman said the farm is the site of the first public library
in Chester County. Approximately 110 acres of the 190 acre-property is under
easement

 Thornbury Farm is on Thornbury Road between S. New Street
and Birmingham Road.