[PHI L A NTH ROPY] S T O N E ’ S T H R O W F A R M C O .
Stone’s Throw From Home A farm for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities where they get dirty and get outside, a place to belong By Celestina Blok
Planting a Seed for Something Good
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For Trish Stone, farming is more than growing produce — it’s planting a seed for something good for young adults with special needs. Trish owns Stone’s Throw Farm Co., which operates on 2 acres in Southwest Fort Worth, producing vegetable crops, eggs, pickles and jams. The venture started about six years ago when Trish’s gardening hobby “honestly got out of control,” and folks began requesting to buy from her bounty. Soon, she was selling out at farmers markets and eventually quit her longtime career in the car sales industry to keep up with demand. But with three teenage sons, two of which have special needs, Trish knew her budding business was bound for something bigger. “We thought if we have this farm, there’ll always be a place for them to work,” Trish says. “Once they leave high school, there are just not a lot of opportunities for folks with special needs who are just maybe short of getting a parttime job somewhere.” Trish’s 15-year-old son, Jackson, has autism, and her 12-year-old son, Cru, has cystic fibrosis. Between therapy visits and doctor’s appointments, there may one day be challenges for them in finding work, she says. “We thought if we can do this for them, who else can we help?” Now with a nonprofit organization status — official since June — Trish has the green light to continue her business with a mission of helping others with challenges like those of her sons. Her husband, Jack, also left his full-time job last year to partner with her in that mission. “We provide work opportunities for young adults with special needs. That includes kitchen work, working at the farm stand making change, greeting customers and packing orders, and working on the farm by planting, weeding, cultivating, harvesting, cleaning and feeding animals,” she says. “We have seven interns already. Some are working toward being paid, and for some, it’s a place to hang out, make friends, and get outside and get dirty.” Clockwise Starting with Top Left: Trish and Cru, youngest son, at a neighborhood; Kaylea and customer at Clearfork Farmer’s Market; Stone Family; Trish and gnarly carrots we grow in our clay soil; Jack and Trish at a recent farmer’s market
