Shanna Nigro-Gonzalez loves her community, so much so that she’s dedicated much of her time to several causes and organizations explicitly aimed at helping those in need.

In addition to being the director for the Cornell Creative Art Center and The Arc Mid-Hudson Foundation in Kingston, she was appointed as the grants manager for the Ulster County Sherriff’s office in 2021, and was a program manager for Ellenville Regional Hospital’s Rural Health Network. While at the hospital, she helped establish the bi-monthly Farmacy program, in which Wawarsing residents stop by to pick up a bag of fresh produce at no cost. She collaborated with NYSDOC to secure additional produce from the Harvest Now senior growing program. She has also helped write the grants that made Ellenville’s Farm-To-School program possible, which lets kids sample fresh produce so that they can experience new foods. For these efforts, she received two awards: she was named a “Champion for Change” from Cornell Cooperative Extension, and received a Certificate of Recognition from former State Senator Jen Metzger.

Her latest venture — Radish Acre Farm — takes all of her hard work to the next level. While still in its infancy, her new venture will give kids a greater appreciation of, not just the place they live, but the land that nourishes them.

“I love where I live, and I was looking for an opportunity to show that you can take pride in where you come from,” said Nigro-Gonzalez.

Currently, the farm sells a small selection of non-GMO seedlings to offset the costs of production. Last season she grew 172 varieties of tomato plants and 42 varieties of pepper pants, among others.

Nigro-Gonzalez has lived in this area all her life, and graduated from Ellenville High School in 1999. But a few years ago she began looking for a nice plot of land for cultivation. She’s no stranger to the farming life; her family has run everything from dairy farms to small hobby gardens for five generations.

“I have memories of my grandma and mom gardening, handling chickens.”

In 2019 she bought a five-acre plot in Wawarsing and has been working the land ever since, in addition to her day job and various philanthropic ventures, and also being a mom of four kids ranging in age from nine to 19, and caring for several animals as well. In other words, Shanna Nigro-Gonzalez is a hard-working woman! But, she was careful to point out that she couldn’t do all this alone. Her partner Julie Mazzelli has been integral in these efforts as well.

She added that she hopes to pass on her agricultural heritage to her children.

Once the acreage was secured, Nigro-Gonzalez and a team of volunteers went to work clearing the land, amending the soil for planting, and crafting grow beds.

“The first year we tested the soil to see what would grow well. In year two we cleared more land,” Nigro-Gonzalez explained. “I’d like to have production fields for produce and cut flowers.”

But Radish Acre Farm will be more than just a plot of land to grow fruits and vegetables. Nigro-Gonzalez envisions collaboration among farmer’s markers, schools, culinary arts programs, the Rondout Valley Growers Association, Hudson Valley Seed Co., and the Hudson Valley Farm Hub, a non-profit center for “regenerative agriculture.”

She hopes to bring students in to learn about the importance of sustainable agriculture, with the hope that they will gain an appreciation for land, and even come back here once they graduate. Nigro-Gonzalez has been talking with a variety of organizations to make this happen, and is even working to develop an internship program through the county. Further in the future she also hopes to established a job placement service in which area students will get paid to work at the farm.

Looking ahead, Nigro-Gonzalez hopes to clear more land for cultivation, hold workshops so people can learn how to grow crops (and cook them), and even open a local farm stand for the public. But before all that, she wants to get area kids involved in farm life to, ideally, foster stewardship for this region.

Nigro-Gonzalez noted how Ellenville appears to be “turning a corner,” and she just wants to give back to the place she grew up in, and help bring back those who may have lost hope and moved away. To chronicle Nigro-Gonzalez’s journey, follow the Radish Acre Farm Facebook page: facebook.com/RadishAcreFarm.