Watch David DeFrancesco Cultivate Local Food and Resources for Farmers

RIFarmIncubator.org

Tell us about yourself, your connection to Rhode Island, and your work.

Born in Rhode Island, I work in Washington County, where I live with my wife Sheri and two amazing children, Noa and Ione. In 2017, I co-founded the RI Farm Incubator, a 501(c)(3) operating on the 91-acre Shewatuck Farm in North Kingstown, where I serve as farm manager. It’s an honor and privilege to live and work in Rhode Island, where I’m able to focus on what’s really important day to day.

What’s your motivation for doing this work?

My motivation comes from the people working toward a vision of uplifting local food, which supports both the community and growers. If increasing locally grown food is a priority in Rhode Island, how can we help those doing the work overcome critical barriers to success? The RI Farm Incubator allows us to mitigate the cost of overhead for farmers and food producers, including those growing at Shewatuck Farm. Those barriers include access to fertile, flat farm land, which is hard to find and challenging to rent or buy, as well as access to clean irrigation water, GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) certification, networks for solving integrated pest management challenges, production methods and supply chain support, storage, packaging, marketing, sales, and customer service. The incubator has centralized all of that in a food-safe facility for growers to utilize.

In what ways do you hope to leave an impact on the Ocean State in the coming year?

Seeing the growers at Shewatuck Farm continue to expand their businesses – with value-added production and planning around what’s in demand – makes a huge difference, as well as seeing more families opting for a local supply of seasonal produce.

What challenges do you anticipate having to overcome to achieve these goals?

My challenge is to determine how to maximize the availability of land at Shewatuck Farm, keep the lights and cooler on, fund our existing programs, and expand our board of partners to build on our solid foundation with new energy and ideas. There are also all of the challenges that come with running a small nonprofit, and for me, balancing a workload of construction and farming.

What’s your reason for optimism approaching 2025?

There is work to do. That sense of responsibility can drive motivation in ways that help to keep a positive attitude in the workplace. Collaboration between well-intended people is a powerful force.