We, Dave & Zelma Williams, have owned Fresh Off The Farm since Sept. 1987. Our daughter Melanie was 9 when we opened. She is now 25 & with the exception of 2 or 3 yrs out of high school, has worked with us & still does as our manager.
Zel was raised between Rockland & East Machias. We spent summers picking veggies in the family garden for canning & freezing, raking blueberries for money for school clothes & still found plenty of time for swimming & riding horses [a lifelong passion].
David was raised in Presque Isle, where his Dad was head of “Tater State” [now McCain French Fries]. He spent a lot of time in the fields & processing plants of the Aroostook potato industry, & spent many
summers with his Uncle James’ family on the 3rd generation dairy farm his father was raised on in Shelburne Falls, MA.. His Dad later was Comm. of Agriculture for the State of Maine under Gov. Longley.
We began here with 2 interests.
- Zel had had many health problems for several years prior to owning the store. When she found out that they stemmed from systemic Candidiasis & related food & chemical sensitivities, she began a process of elimination to determine the problem substances & began to get well. Early in this journey, we bought the store. It & we have grown together. FOTF specializes in foods & products for people eliminating common allergens like Wheat, Corn, Dairy, Sugar, Yeast, Gluten, etc.
- Dave & Zel both come from farm backgrounds & believe in the premise that “If small geographic areas supported themselves agriculturally we would be much better off on many levels”.
Currently Dave & Zel have 28 acres in Washington, Me. where they reside. Their agricultural endeavors now are focused on growing herbs & seedlings in their 100’ greenhouse, which they sell at FOTF. They also breed Labrador retrievers & still have saddle horses. Last summer David made a dream come true with the purchase of a pair of Haflinger Draft Ponies.
David makes a loop of Knox County most mornings during the growing season, picking up fresh produce from a number of growers, before opening the store for the day.
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