Growing Hope Farm
246 Sherring St. N3H 2W4 Cambridge, ON, Canada

Just had to show your the proof of our $5000 donation to #mccpeace food security program! They will take this money and help people have access to training, irrigation, land, implements, seeds, livestock and more! We farm here in Canada so people around the world can farm! Pretty awesome! Thanks for being amazing customers and supporting us so we can help people around the world have access to food! Since growing hope farm started we have donated $37,000! Sooo cool! Goodbye 2020 and gooooood riddance! #growinghopefarm #makeadifference #kitchenerwaterloo #kitchenerwaterloocambridge #kwawesome #kwawesome

No filters on this beautiful bacon! We are going to make bacon and cauliflower soup tonight! Our pigs are pasture raised and fed organic grain and it shows in the taste! Yum! FYI, start with bacon in any soup and it tastes a million times better! #growinghopefarm #pasturedpork #organicfood #organicpork

Morning chores, little bums all lined up! When we first got the farm I never wanted pigs, scandalous I know! A. I wasn’t a huge pork fan and B. You can’t exactly pick them up and move them if they escape! But after trying them this year I’m ! A. Pork from a small regenerative organic farm is a whole different taste then grocery store pork, so now I’m all about the pork! B. Yes it’s hard to move (and catch) these guys when they don’t want to move BUT they are SO fun to work... with! They are my favourite coworkers! I’m officially hooked, I love pigs and I don’t think we will stop raising pigs any time soon!!! #growinghopefarm #localfoodie #kwfoodies #tofoodies #kwawesome #kitchenerwaterloocambridge

Kermit got social skills enough to get a girlfriend! Whoot! We bought Miss Piggy the sow a couple weeks ago and they have found each other and have bonded! Hooray! I’m so proud of Kermit! Hopefully Jo the cow will think Miss Piggy is good enough for Kermit! #pastureraised #pasturedpork #growinghopefarm #kwfoodies

Merry Christmas Eve!! Christmas Eve evening chores in fresh snow away from three Christmas crazed children is sooooo lovely! Hope your feeling some peace too! Xoxo Sarah and family ... #growinghopefarm #localfood #kwawesome #cambridgeontario

This is our little farm. With things shutting down around us I feel so worried about my little world of making sure the boys keep going to school. We didn’t do well as a family when they were out of school. I hope you and all your loved ones are staying safe and staying home! Praying for peace for me and everything feeling anxious out there! On a brighter note we have started to sell our pork and turkey through @sustainablemarket.ca! Check them out for all your food! #growinghopefarm #ihatecovid19 #localfood #kwfood #cambridgeontario

Goodness we had some damage here today! The boys tree house tree cracked right in two and damaged the fence in two places! Luckily a lovely neighbour told us about it and we fixed it before anyone escaped! Hope you are all staying safe out there!! #growinghopefarm #stormdamage

From our fam jam to yours, Merry Christmas! This year with Covid we had to pivot our business from ALOT of agritourism to hardly anything. We then needed to invest in all the things needed to make sure we were a successful farm despite this change! This year we had to buy: -10 chicken tractors -materials for four goat pens... -electric fencing for the whole farm -6ft chain link fencing and posts for 2.5 acres -repairs to the tractor -1400 ft of hoses -portable chicken coup -new tools for building -repairs to a Subaru so it can be road worthy so we can use it as a farm vehicle -horse trailer to move the pigs to the abbatoir -new hitch and electrical for the van to pull the horse trailer -10 new feeders and waterers for the chickens And a BUNCH of odds and ends like heat lamps, thousands of screws,etc. This was a big investment into the future of the farm, but even with all the investments we will still be able to donate $5,000 to @mccpeace ! I didn’t take a salary this year, still not sure what I’ll do next year! I’m disappointed that it’s not the $20,000 like last year, but it’s 2020 so I’m thankful to invest so much in the farm and still have a profit! Merry Christmas everyone! Thank you for all your support and encouragement this past year! You rock! #growinghopefarm #mccontario #donate

Well yesterday was a bit of a mission but I made it there and back! We went to the biggest Kune Kune herd in Canada out in Quinte Bay and got 11 more Kune Kune piggies! So excited to get a proven sow to mate to Kermit and 10 meat pigs! These guys are amazing at grazing and you need WAY less grain to get them to butcher weight! Less grain means more environmentally friendly and healthier meat! #growinghopefarm #pasturedpork #kunekunepigs #kunekune

No lines! No contact! Easy and safe! Order online, send an etransfer and pick up on farm in Cambridge! Easy, safe and beautiful! Also very easy to park! Alllllll proceeds go to @mccpeace so support an amazing cause and stay safe! Go to www.growinghopefarm.ca to order!

Me and Kermit! We have a new wife coming for him in the next couple weeks! I’m so excited! Piglets in the spring! My youngest son says he only likes pigs when they are little, which is fair! #growinghopefarm #pasturedpork #organicfood

I’m getting Jo the very preggers cow a stall ready for BABY time! The shipping containers have a wood floor that Jo is getting very wet with all her poop and pee so I went and got some used rubber stall mats, cleaned out the container, let it dry and put the mats down so she won’t slip and so the wood won’t rot. I love getting these jobs done! #growinghopefarm #farmimprovementsmakemehappy #pregnantcow

Our calf was finally born last week. It took me a while to post something because it’s so sad! On Monday morning at 11am we had the vet out to do a check on her because she was overdue. Everything was fine! Hooray! That night she went into labour and she delivered a still born heifer. Sooooooo disappointed! The vet came out again and said there was nothing we could have done, so that’s encouraging at least. He said we could easily breed her again in a couple months after she heals. In the meantime she at least has Kermit and we get her milk! We will try again in a couple months!

New snow pants for the farm as a present from my awesome sisters! Very excited to stop using my old ones that were for children and didn’t fit and kept falling down as I worked!! I think ever since we got the farm I’ve gotten all farm based presents! I love it!!!

Sorry I haven’t been posting much! This fall has been so much busier then I wanted! I’ve been doing school, the farm and working off farm. I’ve been so torn with a big decision! I do t know if I should make the farm smaller and take another off farm job or to dive in and do the farm as my full time job! Right now I don’t take a salary but am doing the farm full time for the last four years. I can’t keep doing school part time, farm (which is more then full time) and a off farm job part time. I’m loosing steam. The farm will always donate to MCC as we do now but I’m figuring out how much and if I should start taking a wage and I don’t take a wage how much to scale the farm so I can stay sane. What do you think? For those of you who purchase from us would you stop if I started paying myself? #growinghopefarm #localfood #kwawesome

No matter how well you do something your always going to have people who don’t like it. This is the reality that I have discovered in running the farm over the past four years. We are super transparent about how we operate, the living conditions of our animals, what we feed them, etc so that you the consumer knows how your food is being raised and what you are buying! I think this is SO SO SO important in today’s food system where labels are SO misleading. However with tra...nsparency comes people who don’t understand, and that’s ok! I didn’t understand either on SO many things before I started farming. BUT it really hurts when people assume that I’m not taking care of my livestock. I’m actually doing an amazing job, so much so that my vet jokingly said he wants me to speak at a conference on how I managed the goats because I’m doing that well. I’m not great at speaking well of myself but sometimes I have to. If you purchase food at the grocery store (and I do too, I have a Costco membership that I use almost biweekly! One day I’ll change that but for now...you gotta do what you gotta do with three small boys) you/we are participating in a food system that is WAY more broken and terrible and unethical then what you see on Instagram and Facebook with farms that are transparent. Support your local small farms that you see putting themselves out there and being vulnerable and transparent! #growinghopefarm #localfood #local #localfarm #localfarmers #localfarms

Allllll settled in their new pen AWAY from the big bullies! I’m hoping this will be my last set of heritage pigs and from now on i can breed the Kunekune pigs for our pork! Hopefully Kermit our very lazy boer will step up to the plate...if you know what I mean... #growinghopefarm #pasturedpork #heritagepigs

Where you find Kermit you will find Joe! They are two peas in a pod which is so weird! Joe the cow is very protective of our little Boer. I don’t like to anthropomorphize (spell?) our animals but it’s sometimes to cute to not mention! #growinghopefarm #localfood #organic

Pregnancy pictures with Josephine! Two more weeks until we get a baby calf! Any bets on if it’s a boy or a girl? #growinghopefarm #jerseycowsofinstagram #jerseycowsmilk

Without this monster I couldn’t farm. They are the protectors and keepers of the place! They are a HUGE pain in the behind sometimes but it’s all worth it because I can sleep well at night! #growinghopefarm #livestockguardiandog #couldntfarmwithoutem

It was apparently a rough trip over from meeting place organic farm where we bought these piglets to our farm! However the crazy began once they got here! The big pigs were bullies to these little guys so we had to make a quick pen for them away from the big piggies! Two piggies escaped and we spent almost eight hrs looking for them! Oh man!!! But at 11 last night we got everyone safe and sound and in their own pen! Phew! #growinghopefarm #newpigsontheblock #pasturedpoultry

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade! Or in my case, when life gives you 37.5 pound turkeys during an epidemic when ppl want 10 pound turkeys, you make them into ground turkey, boneless skinless turkey breast and turkey legs! Ta da! So, now for the first time ever we have new things for sale! Gotta roll with the punches! Organic grass fed ground turkey is $8.50/lb, boneless skinless turkey breast is $13/lb and the turkey legs and wings are $4/lb! Yum! As always, ...proceeds go to @mccpeace #growinghopefarm #organicmeat #localfood #kwawesome

We did my side of the families thanksgiving today outside! Yup, it was cold! Lol! Stupid Covid! We cooked one of the turkeys we raised and it did not fit inside the roasting pan so we had to get a disposable one instead! 34 pounds of greatness! Anyone else still doing thanksgiving dinners? It’s getting almost too cold to do them outside! #growinghopefarm #thanksgivingoutside #pasturedpoultry #organicturkey

It’s always when you feel the worst when people are the best! My awesome customers and neighbours have dropped off beautiful cards and clothes for the boys! Humanity can be so beautiful! Thank you to everyone who has given their words of encouragement and love!

Jesus loves me this I know, for he gave me Lexapro! I always miss mental health day! It’s ironic bc I purposely missed social media yesterday to give myself a break! I have clinical depression for which I take medication, not Lexapro but it works so well for the rhymes! My mental health regime is Jesus, drugs, supportive people, helping others and farm! ... What’s your regime? #growinghopefarm #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealth #depressionawareness

NAILED IT! I cleared out an old garden, put cardboard and woodchips down and I’ll put a tarp over top too. Hopefully this will prevent and weed growth and create compost over the winter! I’m very excited! This garden is 25x80 and I’m very excited to do some fun things in the spring! #growinghopefarm #organicgardening #vegetablegarden

Our breakfast sausages cooking and I added...MAPLE SYRUP to the pan so it caramelized on the sausages! Add some pancakes with more maple syrup and we are in business! I may have a maple syrup problem... Growing up my dad had 30 acres of bush and he did maple syrup the really old school way with buckets and over the fire. I have vivid memories of testing the syrup to see if enough water was boiled off. I drank soooo much maple syrup... #growinghopefarm #pasturedpigs #grassfedpork #kwawesome

Two gardens of garlic planted! Phew! 40 pounds of garlic in the ground for the next nine months and will be harvested in July! Yum!!! Apparently there is a garlic shortage in the world because of Covid-19 so it was brutal finding garlic seed! Who knew there was a garlic shortage?!?! BUT I’m annoying and bugged a farm until they gave me lots of seed! Hehehe! My step mom also sacrificed some of her garlic! Score! #growinghopefarm #garlic #organic #localfarm

We are cheaper then Costco! That’s not something I get to say everyday! I was out shopping yesterday and of course I had to see how much their organic turkeys were, and...they were $8/lb!!! We are only $5.19 and ours are grass fed AND all our proceeds go to @mccpeace ! It’s a win for everyone! Pm or email me at [email protected] to reserve yours to be picked up anytime after tomorrow! The bottom picture is the turkeys loaded up in my horse trailer this morning an...d the top picture is the abbatoir were I am currently waiting in line. I’m 40 min early and there is already a line out to the road! It’s a busy day here! Honesty moment, I’ve been counting down the days until today. I get sad when I go to process our and , but ...they are just SO DUMB! My kids found out at school that they are one of the dumbest animals in the world, and don’t I know it!

Things are getting really quiet here. Normally at this time of year we have over 8 groups of marginalized people groups coming every week to volunteer on the farm. When they come they get a break from their crazy life and get a chance to give back, get some peace and learn new skills. But, this year, because of Covid-19 the groups have needed to stay safe and not go out into the community more then needed. I miss my team and volunteers! I can’t wait until they can come back!!! #growinghopefarm #covidsucks #imisseveryone

Everyone is keeping covered and warm this gross morning! We use an old shipping trailer for our barn because we live on a flood plain and so we can’t legally build a real barn! Although goodness knows I would LOVE to!!! Oh well, these things are a lot cheaper anyway! #growinghopefarm

I moved the pigs to fresh paddock last week and they are already hard at work digging everything up and eating the roots and bugs! The more bugs and grass and roots they eat the less grain they eat which is better for the pig, is, and the environment! #growinghopefarm #pasturedpork #organicfood

We’ve still got turkeys! They are big and beautiful and will be ready for pickup anytime after Thursday night! They are $5.19 a pound. They have been on grass for the last 12 weeks, yup that’s 84 days of moving them to fresh grass everyday! Lots of love went into these guys! Pm me or email [email protected] if you want to reserve yours! #growinghopefarm #localfood #cambridgeontario #kitchenerwaterloo #kitchenerwaterloocambridge #kwawesome #kwfoodies #kwfood

Yup, he’s actually sleeping in a pile of cow poop! ! #growinghopefarm

Frozen meat tastes just as good as fresh meat! It’s all in the defrosting! NEVER defrost in the microwave! Defrost your meat in the fridge because the slower the better. Ideally defrost over two days. In a pinch you can do the cold water trick on your counter or in the sink. Treat your meat right and defrost slowly and it will love you back in delicious taste! Yes this is the bottom of my fridge and yes it’s a mess...But on the plus side we are going to have peameal bacon sandwiches today for lunch! Yum! #growinghopefarm #organicmeat #localfood #localfarmers #cambridgeontario

Yesterday was a road trip to the Peterborough area to pick up a ram aka single man to make sweet sweet babies with our two ewes! Except I realized on the drive home I’m going to have to keep them separate for a month and a bit so the timing is right...blast! While I was up there I got to visit my step mom and their beautiful farm! A good day! #growinghopefarm #organicsheep #localfood

Since putting the laying hens in the winter coup means the hens get to wonder and explore new buildings, which means suddenly all my eggs disappeared and I couldn’t find where they were laying them! FINALLY a couple days ago I discovered that the small door was open in one of the sheds and Ta Da there was all my eggs! It’s a daily Easter egg hunt around here! #growinghopefarm #pasturedeggs

Moving the last batch of chickens outside! You’d think it’s to cold for them but actually meat chickens do much better in the colder fall weather then the hot summer! I love getting them out of the brooder! #growinghopefarm #pastureraised #pasturedpoultry

My beautiful big turkeys eating their greens! We have a few left for thanksgiving! Send me a PM or email at [email protected] to reserve yours! We are all having smaller thanksgivings this year but doesn’t mean you have to skip out on the good food!!! #growinghopefarm #organicfood #grassfedturkey #grassfedmeat

Fish poop, Kale, and many other yummy things all mixed up in a bucket of goodness! It’s my fall cocktail for my little fruit trees. I’m hoping in a couple yrs these little plant babies will grow up big and strong make us many little fruits! #growinghopefarm #organicfruit #localfruit #localfood

A amazing customer came yesterday to pick up their meat and gave me a bag of muffins!! I don’t take a salary from the farm so we can donate as much as possible to MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) food security program but I’ll take getting paid in muffins! Score! The squash ones were Sooooooo good! #growinghopefarm #mycustomersarethebest #organic #localfood

Ahmen! Yes, thank you for joining me on such short notice, I wanted to let you know that the large brown creature lumbering around is not in fact a monster but another animal like ourselves...what’s that Flo? No she’s not big foot either, I’ve heard the food lady say it’s a coewwww apparently...Yes Flo she is rather loud but she seems to be sticking around so we will all have to adapt! -Things I think are going through the animals heads sometimes! #growinghopefarm

Night time pillaging of eggs for baked goods!

Someone found our swamp! Poor guy! #growinghopefarm