Downtown staple Urban Roots Farm to lie dormant after 14 years of serving Springfield
The farm has barely made the couple a cent in the last five years, and really, they’ve paid into it, Adam said.
By Ryan Collins
Springfield Daily Citizen
August 30, 2023
Excerpt:
Since 2009, the four-season, naturally-grown Urban Roots Farm has established itself as a downtown staple, providing 600 pounds of produce every week for Springfield’s residents and businesses. The 1.7-acre plot, which sits in the West Central neighborhood, will go quiet indefinitely after this season’s harvest, as owners Adam and Melissa Millsap focus on other projects.
The thought of Urban Roots going dormant is a punch-to-the-gut for Springfield’s locally-harvested produce market. It’s a hit to many of the city’s restaurants that relied on the farm for fresh fruits and vegetables. It’s a shock to the small-farm community in the Midwest and across the country.
And it’s a blow to the Millsaps, in many ways. Adam and Melissa called the farmstead home for years, even raising children there. They’re still coming to grips with their decision.
“As we’ve moved through this, we’ve related the sensations that we’re going through to the same ones you have when a good friend or family member dies,” Adam said. “It’s very much the same grieving process.”
Farm-fresh produce was only one of many services Urban Roots provided for Springfield. The farm hosted a community supported agriculture (CSA) program, where every Tuesday members would come pick up their week’s fresh veggies.
“It’s basically a subscription to the farm,” Adam said. “They pay up front, and then they get paid back with their share of vegetables weekly through the season.”
