Gretchen Vaughn joined the UEF farm team at about mid-season. She moved to the Ecovillage in late spring 2017 and right away knew she wanted to get involved and lend her long experience growing food and managing people to the CSA. Her role going forward will be largely administrative.
Gretchen grew up on a 150 acre family farm in NE Ohio taking part in 4H as a youngster. The sewing skills she learned there led to her first career in costume design which landed her at NKU. She bought her own farm in 2002 in Maysville, and became a regular, selling at farm markets and restaurants in the Cincinnati area.
When the commute became too challenging, she started over with Greensleeves farm in Alexandria, eventually establishing a hybrid permaculture/market garden and developing a number of on-farm events for public participation. Greensleeves CSA was successful for 8 years before she sold the farm.
As this season winds down, Gretchen looks forward to helping prepare for next season when she can be part of the UEF team that grows food. She puts it this way: “To me, farming and growing food to share with others is a way to bridge differences and build community. Farming requires skills and traits not often considered meaningful in today’s society. To be successful requires a lot of very hard work, but the rewards of excellent food bringing joy to a consumer’s face makes it all worthwhile.”
By Suellyn Schupe
