Tassone Farms
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Saturday Farmers Market, May-October: E-Shed
Thursday Farmers Market, May-mid-November: A-Shed
Products: Produce
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Sisters Toni and Kelly of Tassone Farm & Williams Farm Stand have been farming since 12 years old…at least! Smiling Toni shared, “It’s honestly, for the most part, amazing working with family. My daughter Samatha runs the back-of-house with my father Savrio, while Kelly and I manage the Markets and farm stand which is named Williams Farm Stand because my mom was a Williams. Samantha grew up on the farm and had a knack for it. She has two babies now and I see it in her older daughter too. As a kid she’d come to Market after long days of working on the farm. It’s exhausting and so sometimes she’d even fall asleep, but had to be here. I see it in her daughter too. Honestly that’s what you hope for. People ask, ‘Don’t you want your kid to be a doctor or something like that?’ There’s a stigma that if they if you’re a farmer you’re dumb and have no teeth, but she went to Morrisville for a degree in agriculture and now she’s a farmer. I can’t say enough good things about her."
Toni went on to explain that farming is more than just a farm to table mentality. It takes problem solving, systems optimization, and extensive research. “My father is so smart. Other farmers we know will call and ask what to do about figuring out some sort of problem they’re having with their field and they’ll work together to figure it out. He’s very tough. He expects a lot,” and pointing to their table of brightly colored and fully grown peppers, “that’s why everything comes out this way. In the assembly line, there’s a certain pace to meet and when you’re expected to pack with a combination of five different tomatoes and different colors, it’s challenging. The quality of our product is truly top line. We’ve even had wholesalers say that when grocery stores see our label, ‘Tassone Farms’, they don’t even have to check the quality because they know it’s good. That’s huge for us."
"I really wish more people knew about the value of shopping local and people aren’t event aware of the variety and fresh product at this Farmers Market. These peppers are coming right from the farm to here. How much fresher can you get? It’s tough because shoppers used to buy in bulk, by the bushel, and younger people don’t seem to know how to do that. There are so many options though for storing. You can freeze goods or can them. Older generations know what they’re doing, but step it up younger generation and try it out, buy a half bushel! Keep it through the winter and it’s still farm to table.”
You heard it here. It’s time to shop local and by the bushel so you have access to farm-fresh food all year round. You can get tips for canning, storing, and an assortment of other kinds of guidance from the farmers. That is the benefit of sourcing from local expert farmers.
Toni and Kelly, sisters and lifelong colleagues of Tassone Farm & Williams Farm Stand, know all about the value of a hard day's work, especially a farmer's day of work..and an ice cream shop/bakery owner day of work...and that you can't do it alone. Humbly Toni shared insight into the early mornings and long days. "I love working season to season, especially August and September which are our hardest months. It's when we're growing and then Kelly and I also own an ice cream shop so we’re up early on the farm by 4am and then closing the shop around 9pm. And I love baking banana bread which people love and will comment if we run out! It’s a lot and intense, but I know the season will come to an end. I'm not sure if I'd be as enthusiastic farming all year round."
To Kelly's point, that's the beauty of shopping seasonally in CNY. "Pretty soon chestnuts will be on the Market for roasting and it's something to look forward to throughout that year, the time when you have access to homegrown peppers and tomatoes. Corn is still growing and we'll probably have it 'till frost. What's fresh though changes seasonally and that's part of the fun. So yeah, what Kelly was saying about customers buying a few peppers each week instead of buying a bushel has changed since we started farming. Not many young people freeze or can and also family sizes have changed. It's more likely that families shopping with us have two kids these days whereas when I was young they may have had six." Either way, "Without the farmer, no one's gonna eat."
As for helping one another on the retail floor, Kelly said firmly, “I love the Market." Pointing to her neighbor in E-Shed @lasnickilandscaping, “We’ve been setting up next to them for years. We’re on our feet all day and so we have to jump in and help one another and everyone gets along.”
