The first $85 that Ken Foppema made selling fruit and vegetables ignited a lifelong passion for farming. That was in the late 1960s when, as a 12-year-old, Foppema grew produce in his parents' garden in Sutton to later sell out of a pull-and-push wagon that he towed every day in the neighborhood surrounding Burdon Street.
Almost 60 years later, he runs 140-acre Foppema's Farm, where, alongside his wife and sons, he grows and sells more than 40 types of vegetables and fruit. "That gave me plenty to do that summer," said Foppema. "I made $85, and I said, 'I think I can make some money at this.'"
Between Sutton and Northbridge, the Foppemas now own 140 acres of farmable land where they grow apples, peaches, blueberries, strawberries, sweet corn, carrots, cantaloupes, melons, potatoes, and tomatoes, among others.
"I'm living the dream," said Foppema. "When you have enough help, and everything's going smoothly, it's great. We enjoy it, and my wife and sons love it." Foppema and two of his sons, Jesse and Evan, work from sunup to sundown cultivating, planting, spraying, plowing, or harrowing.
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