Baffoni’s Farm

Baffoni’s Poultry Farm

By Jenn Lombari

When a local family business has a long history and reputation for having a quality product and excellent customer service, it’s no surprise that the community would come together to help them out when tragedy strikes; Eighty five years to be exact. Back in April of 2021, Baffoni’s Poultry Farm started their morning off with a fire in one of the coops that tragically killed about 3000 chickens. I caught up with Adam Baffoni and he told me of the incredible outreach from customers and neighbors and how they plan to move forward.

After the loss of 3000 chickens in a devastating structure fire, how did Baffoni’s move forward to keep business going? What was it like that day and the weeks after?

To be honest, the only reason we can really move forward after something like this is because of how long we have been here and how well established we are in the local community. By the time we all made it to the farm that morning to see what was going on, everyone was already getting texts and phone calls, and that didn’t stop all day. The phone in the store didn’t really stop ringing with friends, family, and other businesses and patrons asking if everyone was alright and what they could do to help. Having that kind of support makes moving forward from something like this possible, and we had a lot of regulars and new customers come out to the store that week to support us, which is always a huge help. Are you rebuilding already?

We are taking a bit of time to decide exactly what we want to do. The coop that caught fire had been built in the 50’s and a lot of things have changed in agriculture since then, so instead of rushing to rebuild the same thing that was there, we are considering some other options as well.

Did you find out what caused the fire?

Not exactly. It likely could have been caused by one of the heaters we use in the coops, but it’s also possible that it was electrical. The building is old, and so is much of the wiring.

Were those chickens for eggs or meat?

They were for meat, and just about fully grown. It’s really sad to have lost so many animals, but we’re grateful that there weren’t more birds. That coop has 2 stories and the 2nd story was empty. If it had happened just a couple of days later, we would have lost a new flock of baby chicks too.

How many customers do you think you serve per week?

It’s so hard to say. In our retail store alone we’re helping over 500 customers per week, but that doesn’t include all of the restaurants, markets, and other farms we work with. But we’re always growing! We are currently working to get a home delivery service started so that we can serve more of Rhode Island as conveniently as possible!

The store remained open. Were you able to carry on smoothly as far as catering to customers?

Thankfully we were! On the day of the fire, we weren’t operating at quite full capacity, partially because we were all busy dealing with what was happening and partially because the road had to be closed off for the fire department to run the hose. But since then we’ve been able to keep up our regular business. We’re lucky to have enough flocks of birds that we can get through losing one without holding up our business completely.

Baffoni’s also grows and sells fresh produce. What produce will you be growing this season? What is available when?

As always, we’re going to have plenty of fresh produce all summer! Now that the warm weather is here to stay, we’ll see a lot of lettuce and other greens, and once we get into July, then we start to see some of the summer vegetables like heirloom tomatoes, summer squash, eggplant, cucumbers, and plenty more.

Baffoni’s Poultry Farm is located at 324 Greenville Avenue in Johnston. It’s not too late to help! Support this local business by stopping in at their store which is located on the farm and purchase fresh meat and produce right from the source. For dinner, or for your cookout this summer, Baffoni’s Poultry Farm is ready to serve you.