One Acre, Big Influence

In the United States, the average farm comprises 464 acres, and the USDA defines a “small farm” as comprising 179 acres or less. According to this definition, Bennington College’s Purple Carrot Farm, which consists of a single acre, is small even by small farm standards. One might call it a mini farm, or maybe a tiny farm, or even a micro farm. 

Yet none of these definitions would account for the ripples that extend outward from the Purple Carrot Farm into the many communities it touches daily. There are the students who tend it, turning soil, sowing seeds, harvesting crops; there are the chefs who transform its bounty into nourishing meals that feed hundreds daily; there is the broader Bennington community who benefits from the farm’s partnership with the Bennington Fair Food Initiative. If one considers these ripples, and how they often reverberate across the decades after a student graduates and impact lives far beyond the greater Bennington College community, then perhaps that humble one-acre farm isn’t so humble after all. Perhaps the measure of its physical size is just one way to understand its influence and not such an accurate way at that. 

Lilly Kelly ’25 is just one of the many Bennington students whose life has been profoundly impacted by that single acre. Kelly came to Bennington as a freshman, with a keen interest in farming already instilled in her. She began working on the farm immediately, knowing how important it was for her health and happiness to remain engaged in agriculture, which had become a passion for her during the COVID-19 pandemic. What she didn’t yet realize was how much more the farm had to offer. “The farm has been one of the most important educational experiences I’ve ever had,” she explained. “It’s been really interesting to realize that I’m not just a sponge for knowledge; I’m actually someone who can spread knowledge. I have something to share with others.” 

Still, for Kelly, perhaps the greatest lesson of the farm is rooted in the connections it fosters. “Farming and food is one of the easiest, most natural connectors between people. There is something that feels uniquely loving and important in the act of growing and sharing food.” 

Kelly’s experience at Purple Carrot is exactly what staff member Kelie Bowman had in mind when she partnered with the College in 2021 to revitalize the farm and expand the food and agriculture studies opportunities. It was a natural fit for both Bowman, a self-professed “obsessive gardener,” and the College, the alma mater of best-selling author Michael Pollan ’76, whose books include The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food, and Food Rules. Long an advocate for regionalized food systems and regenerative farming methods, Pollan is widely credited for popularizing the local food movement. 

Much like Pollan and the students who work the farm, Bowman believes fervently in the power of small-scale regenerative food production. Regenerative farming leverages a variety of techniques and technologies to produce nutrient-rich crops while always returning more to the soil than it takes, even as it supports the physical, economic, and social health of the communities it impacts. Increasingly, its proponents point to regenerative farming’s capacity to mitigate climate change through the rapid creation of top soil, which acts as a carbon sink. “Farming has such a direct impact on the land and community,” said Bowman, an established artist and gallery owner who came to Bennington when her partner took a job at the College. “I’ve come to think of it as my new social service work.”  

Part of Bowman’s work involves deepening and broadening the College’s food and ag-related opportunities to deliver a greater emphasis on sustainable farming methodologies while also ensuring that students have ample chances to put these methods into practice. According to Bowman, this approach serves the students in several ways: first, by giving them the hands-on experience they need to experiment with and truly understand regenerative practices such as no-till soil management and Hügelkultur, a horticultural technique that involves planting into mounds of organic biomass for improved soil fertility and heat retention. And second, by offering them the opportunity to connect directly with the very source of their sustenance. “The cool thing about growing food is that it’s very tangible,” said Bowman. “It offers a way to measure value that’s not connected to money, and I think that’s really important.” 

There’s also the fact that farming takes place outdoors and requires physical effort, often in the company of others, a combination that’s particularly beneficial in the cerebral environment of higher education, to say nothing of the myriad life stressors we all navigate. “I’ve really noticed how some of the students have come to rely on the farm for their mental health,” said Bowman. “It’s incredibly therapeutic.” 

This observation is mirrored by Lilly Kelly’s lived experience.

“It tends to get pretty brainy around here,” she said with a laugh. “I was feeling a little lost without anything to do with my hands, and the farm has really helped ground me. It’s had such a positive influence on my learning beyond the farm.” 

The positive influence of the farm extends in many directions, including the College Dining Hall, where Chef Matthew Daigneault transforms its seasonal abundance into nourishing meals that feed hundreds of students and faculty daily. In 2024, the farm provided over 5,000 pounds of produce to the school kitchen, up from 1,500 pounds the year prior. Chef Matthew’s appreciation for the farm is rooted first and foremost in his commitment to using the freshest, highest quality produce possible, and also in its ability to provide him with ingredients he simply can’t source elsewhere. “I love and adore and get a little crazy about using all the tomatoes before they ever see the inside of a refrigerator. I want them to go through as few hands as possible before they land in mine,” he said. “And I love how the farm makes me a more creative chef. My other purveyors only sell what they already know, which tends to pigeonhole you into using certain things.”

Perhaps the biggest challenge inherent to Chef Matthew’s relationship with the farm is the sheer abundance and variety of food it produces during the peak harvest months of September and October. Here, too, he relies on his creativity to make the most of the boxes upon boxes of produce finding their way to his kitchen. According to Chef Matthew, there’s a fringe benefit to his creative thinking and meal planning that might just be as important as the food itself: it engages the students. “The more I use food from the farm, the more kids get involved and talk about it with other students, which leads to more students getting involved.” 

It’s a fitting dynamic for a piece of land with a long history of feeding its immediate community, first as a part of the original 140-acre piece of farmland donated by Fredric and Laura Jennings that became Bennington College and later as a victory farm during World War II, comprising 100 acres.