By: Eliza Gowen, Community Farm Outreach Coordinator
Those of you who’ve attended certain WCT events this Fall may have noticed (or tasted!) the fresh apple cider from Ohana Farm. Ohana Farm began in 2015 when Amanda and Conrad Radcliffe bought the farm with visions of a place to support their son with autism and saw it as a solution for him as he approached adulthood. They felt that life on a farm would help him thrive. The Radcliffe family appreciated the old apple trees on the property and wanted to parlay those trees into something good. They decided to grow their orchard and use it as a place for neurodiverse children to build confidence and to use their skills in all aspects of small-batch Apple Cider and Apple Butter production.
Nine years later, they continue to grow their orchard by adding new trees, mending fences, and pruning trees which now produce 8 different varieties of apples with thousands of apples harvested each fall. Amanda started a partnership with Melmark school and now invites students and adults with intellectual disabilities from Melmark, Vanguard School, and Hilltop School to come out each fall season and assist with the processing of the cider and apple butter. This work ranges from harvesting and sorting apples to labeling cider containers and more. Amanda can’t emphasize enough how the work these kids do for the apple cider process does wonders for the children involved. They are so proud of the work they do and their work improves their self-confidence.
For now, Ohana Farm has been selling their cider to the Eagles Novacare complex where they provide it for some of the suites at home games as well as to friends and family. Each year they continue to grow and next year they hope to expand their sales hopefully from a vintage trailer that Amanda has her eye on.
Amanda is grateful to so many who have helped make this all possible. “None of this would be possible without a whole lot of help, input, and advice from folks in our community. Most of all the Eagles Autism Foundation with their amazing support, and regular orders! Shreiner Tree Service helps keep our orchard healthy, STK property management helps weed whack regularly under 60 apple trees, Jonathan Alderson Landscape Design and Cotswold Gardens helped us move 30 trees last year and enclose them in a deer fence to protect our harvest, the late great George Spellman, John Milner who helped us execute our dream for our farm, Conrad (my hubby) who spends his life on our mower and in our tractor, and countless support from friends and family who help with the harvest and volunteer with our school groups.”The Radcliffes have generously donated over 25 gallons of cider this fall to WCT and we are grateful for their generosity and kindness. We look forward to partnering with them for future events. To learn more about Ohana Farm you can visit their website using the button below and add your name to their email list to receive updates about this wonderful farm as they continue to grow.
