In 2019, Jamie and Justin Chase purchased a farm in Boxford, with the intention of growing their small farm operation. The couple opened their business, now the 10-acre North of Boston Farm, in 2020, first as a trailer. “We had a vision of working directly with customers here in town, but we weren’t sure what that would look like, and we weren’t sure what need there was, specifically, in the community,” Justin says. “We started with a mobile farmstand in our driveway, in front of our house, just to meet people and introduce ourselves and see if there was any interest.”
The Chases, who are married, met as kindergarteners in neighboring Newburyport. Justin grew up in an agrarian family; his children now represent the 13th consecutive generation of farmers in the Chase family. Today, the couple still farms, and it remains their primary focus. “We grow the things that we cannot source locally, because we don’t want to compete with local growers,” Justin says. “That’s antithetical to our mission. We grow things that have to be cut fresh and sold that day. We grow things that other growers near us don’t grow, or don’t grow enough of that they can offer wholesale to other vendors.” North of Boston is also a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service farm, with an active federal farm plan.
The farm also grows crops in all four seasons, and some of their crops include rhubarb; asparagus; mixed lettuces; heirloom tomatoes; raspberries; pickling and slicing cucumbers; daikon and various other types of radish; arugula; scallions; carrots; kale; and bok choy. Add that to the produce that they bring in from other farmers—fresh corn when it is in season, for instance—and you have a robust farm store with plenty to choose from. Their home, built in 1685, now serves as the backdrop for a much more expansive space. The couple has broadened the business multiple times from its original footprint, moving from the mobile stand into two larger spaces. The business began to include home delivery, wholesale, institutional sales, and a CSA program in conjunction with Beth Israel Lahey and Mass General Brigham hospitals.
They then began an on-farm retail operation through their farmstand trailer; moved into a small barn; and, finally, into a larger antique barn, fol – lowing comprehensive renovations and restorations. The initial brick-and-mortar farm store involved working with the Boxford Town Planning Board, which, Justin says, “allowed us to further understand the community and its needs.” Later, as they began to see the needs—and requests—of the community, they renovated a larger, existing antique barn, and moved the farm store to that space. One of the store’s first programs— now its most enduring—has been its food delivery boxes. Customers can go onto the website and select either seasonal produce boxes or choose produce, dairy, meat, seafood, and pantry items, and more à la carte. The store offers myriad options for handling, accommodating those with mobility issues; those who may not be home in time to collect perishable items; and those who prefer to reduce and reuse waste. (They also offer summer farm shares for hospital staffers at eight local hospitals.)
The store has become, in its third iteration, a one-stop shop of sorts, with an intensely local bent. In addition to produce, they offer a selection of curated local cheeses, baked goods, frozen foods, pantry staples, and a full butcher counter. Apart from two cuts that are brought in from Lilac Hedge Farm in Rutland, Massachusetts, all of the meat at North of Boston is co-raised. “When you’re getting those special cuts, that’s because our butcher does the butchering for us,” Jamie says. “We’re making sure we’re raising heritage breeds.” Animals are co-raised in Maine.
Over the course of the past six years, North of Boston Farm has expanded organically, accepting feedback from the community. The USDA-defined food hub now offers everything from Thanksgiving turkeys to Easter hams and Passover briskets (all of which can be ordered in advance through the hub’s website). “We want to let the community tell us,” Justin says. “That’s how we’ve done this whole thing. We’ve just responded to needs and requests, both from the producers and the communities and the customers and the towns. We listen to what we’re being told and we respond accordingly.” They listened, and it seems they will keep listening to the needs and wants of the community. Boxford needed a place where residents could get all their local shopping done in one fell swoop. Jamie and Justin Chase responded in kind. The result is a farm and food hub shaped as much by its community as by the land itself.