Green Thumbs Up

Members since 2018, KC Farm School at Gibbs Road brings individuals of all ages, ancestries, and abilities on-farm, hands-on connecting them to the land and soil, food, themselves, and their community. KC Farm School grows regeneratively on three urban acres in southern Wyandotte County, Kansas, and has acquired an additional eleven acres of raw, rolling land adjacent to Gibbs Road Farm to the east. They plan to create an urban oasis of growing and gathering spaces centered designed with permaculture that will facilitate conversations that matter.

We are in the heart of Kansas City, MO, in and near the Lykins neighborhood, practicing organic gardening and homesteading. We work with the Kansas City Food Hub and sell our produce to restaurants, grocery stores and you! We partner with neighbors and nearby organizations like Cherith Brook, Jerusalem Farm and UFG to create a sturdier local food system in general, and a healthier urban community in particular.

Tom owns and operates Buller Family Farm along with his wife Jenny and their sons, Ben and Peter.  Situated just east of Lawrence, Kansas, the Bullers also operate Common Harvest Farms, along with partner with Jill Elmers of Moon on the Meadow Farm. The Bullers grow a wide variety of certified organic vegetables and fruits and work cooperatively with Jill to produce heirloom Turkey Red wheat.

Tom is a founding farmer/partner of the Kansas City Food Hub.

County Line Produce is located approximately 5 miles southwest of El Dorado, Missouri. They grow several acres of produce for many wholesale distributors and have a retail market on their farm. As farming member for the Kansas City Food Hub, they are expanding their fields and realigning their current production for sales to the Greater Kansas City Region markets.

Crow’s Nest Farm is located in Raymore, MO and run by Mark Gawron and his wife, Kristi. Mark began his farming career as a former Farm Manager for Cultivate KC. Crow’s Nest produces heirloom tomatoes, lettuce, specialty hot and sweet peppers, blueberries, and more

Cultivate Kansas City is a locally-grown nonprofit working to grow food, farms, and community in support of a sustainable and healthy local food system for all. We believe that growing and sharing local food nurtures our ability to care for each other and the world in which we live.

Red Ridge Farms was born from a desire to raise their children in a healthy environment and provide them with good, organic food. They are passionate about growing good food that hasn't traveled hundreds of miles to get to a dinner table. Along the way, they have developed a longing to educate their community about the importance of buying fresh food from local and sustainable farms.

Kate and Ken own and operate this small organic farm in Hickory County, MO. Katie has a long history of working with people interested in making local foods more accessible to area residents, most notably overseeing the completion of the Kansas City Food Hub Feasibility Study. Her passion lies with helping small to medium size farms gain access to a variety of markets, thereby helping farmers be more successful. This interest extends this to her own company—Green Gate Family Farm—a certified organic fruit, vegetable, and egg farm in Wheatland, Missouri, which she co-operates with her husband. Katie is a founding farmer/member of The Kansas City Food Hub.

Austin and John have a lot in common. Both are natives from Leavenworth, Kansas. Both learned about farming from their fathers growing up on the farm and as teenagers, both were active in 4-H. College took them down different roads. Reynolds graduated from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas in the fall of 2012 with a Bachelors of Arts in History and minor in Political Science. Edmonds graduated from Kansas University in Lawrence, Kansas in the spring of 2011 with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Anthropology. They joined forces and went back to their farming roots to start Green Thumbs Up, LLC.

Mellowfields Farm is located on the eastern edge of Lawrence, KS in the Kansas River Valley. Their certified organic farming practices and direct-to-consumer marketing delivers fresh and nutritious vegetables to the eaters in Lawrence and the Kansas City area. Currently, Mellowfields Farm cultivates almost 3 acres of Kansas River bottom soil. Their team starts, plants, cultivates, harvests and sells over 50 varieties of vegetables for sale directly to eaters and through The Kansas City Food Hub.

Moyer Farms started as a small cattle and produce operation in 2013 in Richmond, MO.  They specialize in green beans, tomatoes, and lettuce but also grow a wide variety of other produce. In the fall, they grow pumpkins and gourds of all shapes, sizes, and colors and winter squash.  In addition to produce and pumpkins, the cultivate raw honey from their beehives and grass fed beef.  their goal is to provide our community with local, fresh, healthy, and responsibly grown fruits and veggies.

For over a decade, New Roots for Refugees has empowered families from the refugee community to start farm businesses by growing and selling produce through farmer’s markets, wholesale, and New Roots’ Farm Share. Farmers enter the New Roots four-year program with agricultural expertise from their home country and grow produce according to organic standards.

Ophelia’s Blue Vine farm brings locally grown produce directly to the community to help improve the overall health of our society. They specialize in market fresh herbs cut-on-demand and sold direct to customers. The farm is ran sustainably and reduces waste by composting and recycling materials that would otherwise be thrown away.

Pat & Rachels Gardens mission is to establish a healthy, sane business which produces excellent quality food for the Olathe and Greater Kansas City area and to share ideas and research so others may benefit.  

Mike Pearl is the 4th generation Pearl to farm on his land. He believes his farming activities should be profitable and enjoyable. Farming for the Pearls has always been family endeavor. They strive to leave the land, including the agricultural infrastructure that they manage, in better condition than when they found it. Pearl Family Farm works in partnership with nature. They value being able to tell customers directly about their production practices. They value being part of a farming community and a vital part of the larger community.

In 2020 as COVID-19 became a pandemic, Lawanna and Josh Salmon started to see the beef prices climb and the shortage of beef in the stores. They wanted to do their part to help so they decided to start selling their local farm fresh beef.  From there, they have grown to helping more people in the community get local farm fresh beef. 

What began as a way to supply their family with farm fresh milk, has grown into the farm and creamery that Skyview is today: a Grade A, micro-dairy creamery nestled in the plains of Kansas only ten miles from the Missouri state line.  Sheri and Bill Noffke, owners and operators of Skyview Farm offer many varieties of artisanal cave-aged cheese, fresh cheese, yogurt and other delicious dairy options that start with their beloved herd of pastured Jersey milk cows.

Jeremiah Brubaker’s Vernon County Produce is a family business. His farm is a patchwork of his sons’ farms with high tunnels, fields and greenhouses scattered across the countryside of Rich Hill, Missouri. They are known for volume. Small but mighty, the team has figured out that by narrowing product, collaborating, and always delivering the product they promise, they can find success while making a name for themselves. The earliest strawberries and tomatoes on your dinner plate will have come from these guys, and we guarantee you’ll be pleased.

Lettuce Dream, a social enterprise engaged in hydroponic farming, exists to provide meaningful employment and training opportunities for persons with cognitive or developmental disabilities.

Be Love Too Farm is a non-certified organic sustainable vegetable farm serving the local community! Steve and Andrea Myers are the lucky farmers who have taken on the life of farming to fulfill on their commitments to bringing connection, health and fulfillment to others and the environment. We welcome the community to our farm!!

Limestone Gardens is a certified organic vegetable and fruit farm located in northeast Kansas. The farm was founded in 2013 with the goal of growing nutritious food, healing the land and providing food to our local communities. The farm consists of a Certified Organic market garden and pastures to rotate grass fed lamb and laying hens. They are committed to continually improving practices to provide the best food for our community.

Moon on the Meadow Farm is a certified organic grower located on the eastern edge of Lawrence, Kansas. Benefitted by nutrient rich Kansas River bottom land, the farm is owned and operated by Jill Elmers, a leader in the region’s local foods movement dedicated to sustainable agriculture. With help from a fantastic crew of workers and volunteers, Jill grows a wide variety of vegetables, herbs, and small fruit. Two, 2000 square foot hoop-houses help extend the farm’s growing season, allowing Jill to market products all year. Jill is a founding farmer member of the Kansas City Food Hub.

Mad Pickler farm is run by Mindy Wood. They grow lettuces, tomatoes, and other vegetables on their farm.

The Hemme brothers and their father, David, turned their dairy operation into a creamery in 2016. Working out of Sweet Springs, MO, the brothers each play a part in raising the cows, milking, and making their small-batch, handcrafted cheese. Their cheese is rooted in goodness and rooted in family, taking farmstead a bit further, from crop to cream to curd.

Mad Pickler farm is run by Mindy Wood. They grow lettuces, tomatoes, and other vegetables on their farm.

Jacob Chapman runs Moose Paw, a Spring Hill based sustainable minded dynamic farm, providing education, and more, to the local communities. Moose Paw specializes in growing a variety of gourmet mushrooms including pink oysters, Italian oysters, and lion’s mane.