
<p>Tap Root Fields, a 50-acre regenerative farm, supplies fresh produce to the nearby Fields Restaurant. Fields Restaurant then returns food waste to Tap Root for composting. The nutrition-dense mixture is then reintroduced to the soil.</p>


Healthy soil heals people. Tap Root Fields, a 50-acre regenerative farm in Skaneateles, devotes itself to this principle. It supplies fresh produce to nearby Fields Restaurant, which returns its food waste to Tap Root for composting. The nutrition-dense mixture is then reintroduced to the soil. Jamie Hunt, Director of Farm Operations at Tap Root Fields, smells a cannabis plant in his hand on October 24, 2025. The regenerative farm was founded in 2019 to grow hemp after New York State legalized the production of industrial cannabis plants.

Graham Dickie

Lynn Johnson

Cloves of softneck garlic, which Hunt inherited from his grandfather, were planted in rows by farm crew member Curran McGowan on October 24, 2025. Hunt’s great-grandfather brought the garlic to the United States through Ellis Island when he immigrated from Italy.

Hunt checks on the tomato harvest operated by farm crew members Taylor Sauginas and McGowan on October 24, 2025. The tomatoes were delivered to Fields Restaurant in the afternoon.

After the garlic cloves were planted, Hunt mulches the plant box with straw before irrigating them on October 24, 2025.

The tropical plant Luffa is laid out in the processing barn for drying into sponges on October 24, 2025. Hunt applies his knowledge from culinary school to utilize every part of a crop.

Hunt loads boxes of fresh produce before delivering to Fields Restaurant on October 24, 2025. The restaurant turns vegetables and flowers from Tap Roots into dishes then returns food waste to the farm for compost.

Edible flowers from Tap Roots sit in the kitchen of Fields Restaurant on October 24, 2025.

Hunt stands between his co-workers, Jess Howard(left) and McGowan(right), who also wear jeans and brown shoes on October 24, 2025.

Hunt converses with co-worker Jess Howard on October 24, 2025. Howard said gardening and farming can help alleviate depression, as some microbes in the soil act as natural antidepressants.

Hunt swings a bag of onions before examining the cabbage next to him on October 24, 2025. Hunt believes that cultivating healthy soil yields nutrition-dense food that, in turn, heals the community.

Committed to regenerative farming practices, Tap Roots Field consults scientists to operate their own composting site. The compost comprises beer mesh, coffee grinds and leaves collected throughout the village, as well as food waste returned from the restaurant.

Hunt walks past rows of soil with various cover crops on October 24, 2025. Diverse cover crops stimulate greater collaboration between different microbes, allowing them to form a symbiotic ecosystem, according to Ben Zoba, the regenerative farming consultant of Tap Roots. “The more nutrients we get from the food we eat, the healthier we are, the better our minds work, the more we’re able to serve our community, take care of our families,” said Zoba.

The Alexia Fall Workshop

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FARM-TABLE-FARM

Produced by

Christine Kao

Coached by

Graham Dickie

Lynn Johnson