How? It’s the first question people who haven’t seen me in a while ask, and I have strived to share my advice in a way that is easy, because diets are complicated and difficult enough without me adding two cents.  Exercise, and healthy eating, that’s my answer, it’s the truth. I have said, eat from the farm not the factory, and for my friends and family who know me well, know that I love shopping, eating, and staying local, that makes Confreda’s the Farm I eat from most.  At the 90^th celebration of Confreda’s Farm on Friday, Phou Vongkhamdy, State Conservationist from USDA praised Vinny Confreda the farms 3^rd generation of ownership, stating Vinny knows well “Take Care of the Land, and the Land will take care of you”.  Well said, I would also add, “Take Care of your body, and your body will take care of you”. 

Confreda’s opened their Farmers Market on Saturday with a fresh new look to their retail space, and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. I hope we can all take of our bodies as well, and as long as the Confreda’s have taken care of their land, it’s been 90 years. If you’re up for the challenge this is the market for locally grown produce, fresh from the backyard, all 400 acres of it. They are one of largest growers of vegetables in Rhode Island, Confreda really means locally grown.    

This is a family business, owned and operated by four generations of Confreda’s, there is a lot of pride in this produce, when Vinny Confreda signed the paperwork for the families current location in Western Cranston he did so on the hood of a Volkswagen in the dirt lot where the farmers market and café stands today. And the commitment to his family’s farm hasn’t faltered, even today; Vinny himself has a selection of produce guaranteed to be fresh-picked that morning.  I like to stop by for Vinny’s pick to accompany our Sunday protein and while I’m there I pull up a chair at the café and enjoy one of my favorite things, a cup of coffee, black, no sugar.  My Wife sometimes enjoys a pastry or something light with her coffee as well, and my son always asks for the Ice Cream, and just one more minute on the original play station, also known as a few swings and a slide that make up the playground.  

In addition Confreda Farm is committed to the community and they work just as hard at creating a family farm feeling as they do in the fields, tune into their website at www.confredas.com for more information on the many family friendly events from farm tours, Easter Egg Hunts, and Corn Mazes to the popular Scary Acres in October there is a lot more than the tomatoes and peppers at Confreda’s, see for yourself.