Rooted Locally: Round The Bend Farm

Q&A with Haley

What is Round the Bend Farm?

Round the Bend Farm is a local, nonprofit farm in South Dartmouth. Their mission is to give back to the environment and to educate people of all ages about sustainable farming practices. The three principles of their mission are valuing diversity, modeling nature, and redefining wealth. Their commitment to their mission and these principles are why they refer to themselves as a “Center for Restorative Community.” In support of their educational mission, Round the Bend Farm hosts a variety of programs, including summer camps, tours, and workshops.

The land that the farm occupies has a rich history, with Native Americans having lived on it for over 12,000 years. The farm itself was started in 2007 when 39-acres of land were purchased by Leslie and Rutgers Barclay, who gave it the name Round the Bend Farm. In 2015, the farm officially became a nonprofit organization, founded by Desa Van Laarhoven and Geoff Kinder.

What makes Round the Bend Farm unique?

Round the Bend Farm has no shortage of unique qualities. Their sustainable farming practices are key to their goal of helping the environment, but these practices are far from the only way that the farm contributes to the well-being of our planet. The use of composting toilets in their Learning Center and food systems to recycle nutrients back into the soil also helps them work toward this goal.

One type of food system used is Rotational Animal Management, in which the animals themselves do some of the work on the farm. For example, instead of mowing grass with a tractor or lawn mower, cows and sheep do the work. This method of mowing benefits both the animals, who receive nutrients from eating the grass, and the environment by reducing any harm that could be caused by the gas used to drive a lawn mower or tractor.

What can I do at Round the Bend Farm?

As Round the Bend Farm is an educational organization, there are many fun learning experiences for people of all ages. For teens and tweens, there is a summer camp that allows participants to help out on the farm, including caring for plants and animals, creating a farm-to-table lunch, and simply exploring the property.

Younger children can partake in a variety of programs by Elements Learning Collaborative (ELC). These programs provide an opportunity to learn about so many different topics, including local ecosystems, healthy movement, food systems, and more. ELC also offers guides that parents and guardians can download so that they have the opportunity to teach their children at home.

In addition, the farm also offers school field trips centered around many different topics, such as beekeeping, composting, and animal husbandry, to name a few.

On the third Saturday of each month from April to December, Round the Bend Farm hosts their Open Farm Days. These events are open to the public and are completely free. On Open Farm Days, people of all ages can take free tours and participate in fun and educational activities.

You’ll also find hot, farm-fresh food for purchase and a market where you can purchase goods from businesses owned and operated by “agripreneurs”—entrepreneurs whose businesses are directly involved with the work at Round the Bend Farm. Some of the vendors at the market include Paradox Acres and Goatbusters, which sell meat from animals born and raised on the farm. Items available for purchase include pasture-raised pork, goat meat, and 100% grass-fed beef.

Round the Bend Farm also sells merchandise including T-shirts, sweatshirts, homemade goods made on the farm, and their very own collection of recipes, the Manifest Love Cookbook. Digital copies can be obtained on the farm’s website for free. The week before any Open Farm Day, you’ll have the opportunity to pre-order some of these items on the farm’s online store.

If you can’t make it to an Open Farm Day but would still like to take a tour, there are also personalized tours available. Round the Bend Farm also allows private events on the farm, including weddings.

What are some ways that Round the Bend Farm gives back to their community?

As a nonprofit organization, Round the Bend Farm gives back to their community in many ways. The farm works with the town of Dartmouth on their Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Grant, a state-level program designed to help combat climate change. The farm’s food donation program, Manifest Love, provides local families with fresh, healthy food grown and raised on the farm.

Cooking classes are also provided to the children of families who receive food through the program.

Round the Bend Farm also has a program called Cash for Carne+ CSA that is aimed at helping people get better access to sustainable, healthy meats. When you sign up, you’ll be allowed to choose the package size that’s right for your family. You’ll then be given a gift card at a discounted rate. The card can be used on Open Farm Days to purchase meat as well as other products grown and produced on the farm.

Another way Round the Bend Farm gives back to their community is through the sliding scale for their programs and events. When you sign up, you’ll be able to choose between two different pricing options so that you can select the price that fits your budget.

I love Round the Bend Farm and their mission! What can I do to support them?

Show your support by attending Open Farm Days and purchasing items from the market, including items from the businesses run by agripreneurs. Another great way to show your support is by volunteering to help out on the farm. Volunteers can assist with things like processing food in the kitchen, working in the gardens with both perennials and annuals, helping with the educational and administration side of things, and more.

If you’d like to donate directly to Round the Bend Farm, you can do so on their website. In addition to monetary donations, the farm also accepts donations of various items, including but not limited to cloth napkins of any print or color, matching or non-matching silverware, Pyrex dishes, and Tupperware. For the full list of accepted items, check the farm’s website. You can also support the farm by leaving them a review on Google or Facebook.

Round the Bend Farm also holds an annual fundraiser to support their educational, farming, and food donation programs. Much like the pricing for their educational programs, tickets for the fundraiser operate on a sliding scale. The 2025 fundraiser will take place on April 26^th from 5pm-8pm and will include refreshments, baby goat visits, farm foraging, and a farm-fresh buffet-style dinner followed by dessert and s’mores. Tickets are available now on their website.