Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 5/10/2022
MONSON – A farmstand that was originally created to assist in funding college tuition, has flourished into much more.
The Happy Hen Farmstand, a family-owned and operated organic stand, was established by Kim Grinnell in May 2021.
“I started it as a way to help [my] daughter pay for college,” said Grinnell. She added that her idea was to start by growing all organic vegetables and plants, along with baking breads on the side to sell.
Since turning this idea into a reality, Grinnell said, “[The farmstand] has snowballed into so much more.”
From herbs and flowers to small crafts, organic lip balms and free-range eggs produced from their chickens, the Happy Hen Farmstand has a variety of goods from which to choose.
Due to the successes of the current stand, located on the Grinnell’s property at 185 Town Farm Rd. in Monson, they are building a larger one. “My husband is building a bigger walk-in structure,” said Grinnell. This will allow for the Happy Hen Farmstand to remain open during inclement weather and the winter months.
To fill the new space, along with the homegrown goods, Grinnell said, “My mom and I make all the stuff. I bake everything myself.”
Some of their most popular baked goods are apple fritters and apple cider donuts. As these sweet treats go fast, Grinnell suggests that people reserve them by pre-ordering. “We never know how busy we’ll be,” she said. “I cap it at a certain amount, [so it’s] not strictly pre-orders. I want to have stuff at the stand… a balance between the two.”
Every week, the menu changes. Grinnell said she typically posts by mid-week what their weekend menu will consist of. Regardless, she said, “I always have fresh breads, cookies, sweets.” Grinnell shared that for Mother’s Day weekend, the menu consisted of strawberry scones with a lemon vanilla icing, chocolate chip cookies, lemon poppyseed cookies and more.
Grinnell has a cottage food license with the town of Monson, allowing her to make and sell home baked goods. Currently, their baked goods are only sold on the weekends.
The farmstand’s hours of operation are Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. until dark. Once the new stand is finished, Grinnell said they will be open seven days a week. She noted that they will use the “honor system,” meaning if someone takes an item, they should leave money at the stand.
Last year, Grinnell said they kept their farmstand open until Christmas Eve. “We had holiday signs, gift bags,” and more, she said. The stand closed for the winter and reopened in March.
Since reopening the farmstand for a second year, Grinnell said, “It’s been really busy.”
She continued, “People are really excited to come back. A big thing about [my] farmstand is that I can go out and talk to everybody,” said Grinnell. “I get to learn everyone’s name … It’s more personal than stopping at the store, buying a loaf of bread and leaving. I get to meet so many nice people.”
Grinnell said, “[My daughter] is now a freshman in college. All of the money goes towards her tuition.” When sharing this information with customers, Grinnell said, “People have been very supportive of the farmstand,” and the cause. “I am grateful and humbled to see how supportive everyone’s been,” she added.
As the weather improves, Grinnell said the organic plants will be coming out and she can do more gardening. For Grinnell, she said it’s neat to “plant tiny seeds and get big organic plants.”
The Happy Hen Farmstand can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/The-Happy-Hen-Farmstand-100100122254929.