Fare House Farms
The Woodlands, Texas | EST. 2020
Farmer
Alex Armstrong
No. of Farms
One
Business Model
Small business farmer selling crops and products locally
Area served
Greater Houston, Texas
Main crops
Butterhead lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, herbs, and calendula
About Fare House Farms
Together, Alex Armstrong and her dad, Rod, operate Fare House Farms. Rod, who has a passion for agriculture and supporting entrepreneurs, was the one to first learn about Fare House Farms. When he first pitched the idea of starting a farming business together, she wasn’t interested. It took a few years and a trip to Boston to convince Alex; now, she’s the farm manager and Rod does the behind-the-scenes technical work to keep Fare House Farms running.
“Talking with other Freight Farmers…that’s what sold us on Freight Farms — this community.”
On Work-Life Balance
Alex had a successful career in marketing at Adidas — she didn’t need a new job. But when her daughter was born, she found her mindset shifting. A flexible schedule that kept her closer to home sounded nice in comparison to traveling constantly for work and being away from her daughter. A trip to the East Coast to tour a Freight Farm in Boston finally convinced her, and she and Rod received their farm in 2020. Now, Alex loves the flexibility and work-life balance that farming has given her. She spends about 25 hours a week operating her farm. It gives her more time to spend with her daughter — who sometimes even helps her in the farm — and with her dad, who has a wealth of knowledge about entrepreneurship to share.
Connection to Community
Community is central to Fare House Farms. Alex loves getting to interact with her fellow farmers and consumers and solicit feedback from them. She stays connected to them, even virtually, via social media, which she lauds as a great tool for small farmers to market their business.
Customers
When they first started Fare House Farms, Alex admits she told Rod, “I’m not doing farmers markets, okay? Saturday is for family.” But it was tough to start a farming business in the height of the pandemic, and farmers markets were a great way to connect with customers at the time. She now raves, “It ended up being amazing, and I love the farmers market that I’m at.” It’s an amazing community, and a place where Alex gets to hear customers’ immediate reactions; they love the longevity, bright colors, and great taste of Alex’s greens.
Beyond farmers markets, Fare House Farms sells produce to two local restaurants. Alex recounted the story of gaining one of these clients — in June 2020, when the farm arrived but everything was shut down due to COVID-19, restaurants had neither interest nor room in their profit margin for local lettuce. Alex and her dad went to their favorite local barbecue spot anyway and gave away their extra greens to the chef. When business at his restaurant got a little better, he came to Fare House Farms for a tour and lettuce tasting, and ultimately became a customer. What a testament to the power of community and generosity over pure sales!
“You really have to go out there and find your customer base, whether it’s going restaurant to restaurant or going to a bunch of different farmers markets.”
The Texas Freeze
In February 2021, temperatures in Texas reached an unprecedented low — the coldest in 80 years. The power grid shut down. The streets were blanketed in snow. Pipes burst. Crops shriveled in their fields. Texans suffered, shivering in their homes, no oil or gas to be found, food scarce because delivery trucks couldn’t make it to grocery stores.
But in the face of disaster, everyone came together. Alex and Rod were two of the many who stepped in to help out. Thankfully, they never lost power, and the lettuce in their farm had been unaffected by the extreme weather (thanks to the power of controlled environment agriculture!), so they made the decision to harvest everything they could and hand it out to community members in need. In return for a hand off of lettuce, her neighbors helped out where they could with the staples she needed: a few eggs; a carton of milk. Texas made it through…and Alex and Rod purchased a generator to help with future hurricane seasons and unexpected disasters.
Crops & Products
Alex grows a healthy mix of lettuces, herbs, and flowers. Currently, her selection includes butterhead lettuce, romaine, kale, Swiss chard, sage, rosemary, thyme, basil, and calendula. They’re packaged in a variety of bags, clamshells, or rubber-banded bundles and affixed with a professional Fare House Farms label, which elevates the presentation of her products and boosts sales.
Her calendula flowers, in particular, are extra special (and not just because they’re so pretty!). After growing the edible flowers, Alex began to notice that calendula is a component of many skincare products. The realization spurred her to think creatively about utilizing her crops to make another product.
She and Rod decided to make calendula tincture, an ingested concoction which has powerful health and healing benefits, including skin regrowth and anti-inflammation properties. To make it, she dries the flowers, puts them in a jar with vodka, and infuses the mixture for three months. She’s expanded beyond the tincture to make topical calendula rollers with coconut oil and calendula salves, with beeswax, which are great for bug bites, cuts, rashes, and burns.
Want to hear more from Fare House Farms?
Download the recording from our live interview!
Alex explores her family’s journey to vertical farming, entrepreneurship, her calendula products, and more.
Recorded: November 30th, 2021 at 12 PM EST.
