Visit Our

Farm Stand

Open Every Day 7AM-7PM

We Do More Than Grow Great Food

ABOUT THREE MEADOWS FARM

AN INVESTMENT

Each purchase from Three Meadows Farm is an investment in your health, your community, and the lives of people with autism.

From its beginnings as a family garden, Three Meadows Farm has grown into a fully operational farm, able to provide fresh, hydroponically-grown produce and Thanksgiving Turkeys to the community through its farm stand and distribution to local restaurants and grocery stores.

Feed the Need

“We are proud to nourish our community by providing growth opportunities to people with autism and fresh produce and meats that you can feel good about feeding your family.”

Under the ownership of the Rupert family, Three Meadows Farm fostered relationships with many people and businesses in the community. One of these relationships was a partnership with Somerset Hills Learning Institute, a non-profit education and treatment program for people with autism.

Through this partnership, older students were given the opportunity to experience a multitude of job readiness skills including woodworking, farming/gardening, greenhouse cultivation and more. Career training sets Somerset Hills Learning Institute apart from similar schools, as one of the few specialized programs in the nation working to impact the 86% unemployment rate (Roux et al., 2017) of adults with autism. With approximately half a million people with autism entering adulthood in the next decade (Roux et al., 2017) this type of program is crucial.

In 2016, Somerset Hills Learning Institute purchased the farm from the Rupert family. Three Meadows Farm now operates as one of a number of job-training sites for the school program.

Legitimate Hope for People with Autism

ABOUT SOMERSET HILLS LEARNING INSTITUTE

Three Meadows Farm is a social enterprise of Somerset Hills Learning Institute, a private non-profit program that offers a broad spectrum of science-based services and education to children, adolescents, and young adults with autism. Utilizing life-changing treatment methods, Somerset Hills Learning Institute enables learners with autism to become as independent as possible, up to and including career training. Each purchase from Three Meadows Farm supports the Institute’s ability to provide quality treatment and education.

Three Meadows Farm functions as a social enterprise by serving as both a learning site for students and a job site for adults, who may have otherwise been unemployed.

Our Social Enterprise

A social enterprise is a business whose purpose is to reinvest financial surpluses in support of a socially meaningful cause.

*AGARWAL, P. (2018) FORBES.

Know Your Farmers. Know Your Food.

WHY EAT LOCAL

Local products are good for community businesses, for your health and for the environment. What’s the difference between the food at your grocer and the food at our stand?

Healthier Alternative

Our produce is allowed to ripen in the field and reach its full nutritional value before you buy it, which makes your meals healthier. Plus, transporting food long distances from field to store has a negative impact on the environment

Supports Community

Buying local gives you the opportunity to get to know your farmer and be truly informed about how your food is produced.

Sustainable Practice

Sustainability is important to us. That’s why we grow sustainably, endeavor to leave a minimal imprint on the environment as possible, and sustain and advance the educational investment made in the students at Somerset Hills Learning Institute.

Deliciously Sustainable

What is Hydroponic Farming?

Hydroponic farming allows us to grow our produce in a truly organic environment with no chemicals used to treat the plants. Simply put, hydroponics means growing plants in nutrient-rich water rather than soil. This process takes place inside of a hydroponic greenhouse, where we, as farmers, are able to have control of all of the factors affecting our crops through the use of a sealed environment. Produce grown in this way is not exposed to harsh and widely variable natural conditions, from weather and insects.

Additionally, hydroponic farming creates a minimal impact on the environment. Somewhat counter-intuitively, growing plants in water actually uses up to 95% less water than traditional growing, since water is not absorbed into the soil and can be replenished with nutrients and reused. Additionally, being able to create the perfect growing environment means products can be grown locally, even if they are not naturally indigenous to the area. Eliminating the need for long-distance transportation of crops helps reduce our carbon footprint. The resulting produce is as nutritious as traditionally grown products and is able to be grown year-round!

Visit our Farm Stand

Our Farm Stand is open 7 days per week from sun up to sun down for honor system purchasing of our hydroponically-grown produce and farm fresh eggs.

Three Meadows Farm, 1130 Burnt Mills Road, Bedminster, NJ 07921