Thursday, October 1, 2026
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As the Bucks County Foodshed Alliance celebrates its 20th anniversary, the nonprofit is inviting the public to the final two stops in its expanded free summer farm tour series, offering opportunities to meet local farmers, explore sustainable and regenerative agriculture and gain a deeper appreciation for where food comes from.
The remaining tours include a Wednesday, Aug. 5, evening visit to Blooming Glen Farm, located at 98 Moyer Road in Perkasie, and a Sunday, Aug. 16, morning tour of Hollow House Farms, located at 3352 Dark Hollow Road in Furlong.
The Aug. 5 tour begins with a potluck at 6 p.m., followed by a farm tour at 7 p.m. at Blooming Glen Farm. The Aug. 16 tour begins with a community potluck brunch at 9:30 a.m., followed by a guided farm tour at 10:30 a.m. at Hollow House Farms.
Participants at both events are encouraged to bring a dish to share, along with their own plates, utensils, beverages and seating.
While the Foodshed Alliance has hosted summer farm tours since 2007, this year marked a milestone. To commemorate its 20th anniversary, the organization doubled the number of tours, spotlighting both the founding farms that helped shape the alliance and a new generation of farmers carrying its mission forward.
"We doubled the number of farm tours we are having this year to honor our founding farms and highlight our new regenerative farmers as well," said Robin Hoy, co-founder of the Bucks County Foodshed Alliance and chair of the Wrightstown Farmers Market Committee.
The anniversary series began in June and continues through August. The final two tours illustrate both sides of its history, beginning with one of the alliance's founding farms and concluding with one of its newest.
Founded two decades ago, the Bucks County Foodshed Alliance works to strengthen the county's local food system by connecting residents with farmers, promoting sustainable agriculture and supporting access to healthy, locally grown food. The organization also operates the Doylestown and Wrightstown farmers markets and sponsors programs that help address food insecurity, including matching SNAP benefits and purchasing surplus produce from farmers for local food pantries.
For Hoy, the farm tours have always been central to the Foodshed Alliance's mission.
"Our goal when we started this was to build a local sustainable supply of food grown here for the local community, to bring back the way it used to be years ago when most of our food was grown here for local consumption," she said.
Hoy said the tours help residents understand not only where their food comes from, but also the joys and challenges involved in producing it.
"People come to these tours to get to know the people who are growing for them and see how they are growing," she said. "The tours are a way for people to know the farmer, know what their philosophies are and know what they care about."
"Every farm is different," Hoy added. "People get to see different farming philosophies and different ways farmers are producing food. That's what makes each tour unique."
The tours also offer a chance for participants to ask questions directly to farmers while walking through fields, greenhouses and pastures.
Hoy said Blooming Glen Farm has been an important part of the Foodshed Alliance since its early years.
"They're one of our largest CSAs in the county," Hoy said. "They grow vegetables and flowers, and they're certified organic farmers, which not many farms pursue because it's a lot of work to become and stay certified."
Certified organic through Pennsylvania Certified Organic since 2006, Blooming Glen Farm follows sustainable growing practices that include composting, cover crops, crop rotation and natural methods for building healthy soil without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or genetically modified organisms.
Founded by Tom Murtha and Tricia Borneman who spent years working on organic farms throughout the Northeast, Blooming Glen Farm was established with a commitment to preserving Bucks County farmland while connecting residents with locally grown food.
Hollow House Farms, one of the county's newer farms, is an example of the next generation of farmers the alliance hopes to support.
Owned by Matthew and Lisa Braud, Hollow House Farms officially began selling products in 2021. The 12-acre family farm practices regenerative agriculture without synthetic chemicals or pesticides and features pasture-raised chickens, honey production, vegetables, flowers, pollinator gardens and greenhouse-grown produce using aquaponics, a system that combines fish farming with hydroponic plant production.
Lisa Braud said opening the farm to the public is an important part of the couple's vision.
"My husband and I are first-generation farmers," she said. "I grew up in Buckingham, and I absolutely love Bucks County. We wanted to create a space where people could come and learn about all facets of farming and feel connected to the community."
She hopes visitors leave with a stronger connection to the people producing their food.
"We think it's so important for people to know their farmers and know where their food comes from," Braud said. "Creating a space that helps them connect, whether that's walking through our flower gardens, our market gardens, our greenhouses, our apiary or just seeing all our chickens outside, there is an opportunity for everyone to connect."
During the tour, guests will walk through flower fields and vegetable gardens, visit the farm's greenhouses and aquaponics system, observe hundreds of pasture-raised chickens and learn about the property's beekeeping operation.
"While here, they will see plenty of tomatoes, fields of all of our flowers and lots of zinnias, snapdragons and celosia," Braud said. "We also have about an acre dedicated to pollinator gardens."
Visitors will also learn how bees, flowers and regenerative farming practices work together to support the local ecosystem.
The farm's more than 300 pasture-raised chickens are another highlight.
"When people are walking our farm, they will see the chickens and they can see for themselves that these chickens live a wonderful life, how they were intended to," Braud said. "They free-range all day, eat bugs and grass, help with natural pest control and naturally fertilize the ground."
Unlike many large commercial farms, Hollow House Farms operates on a smaller scale while producing food throughout the year.
"People are used to seeing farms with big tractors running in fields," Braud said. "At our farm, we do everything on a smaller scale. I think that's what's so interesting about our farm. You'll see it on a smaller scale, but we're still producing quite a bit."
Hoy says that connection between farmer and consumer is precisely what the Foodshed Alliance has spent the past 20 years building.
"I hope people who go on these tours understand how these farmers' growing practices are giving them more nutrition because they're building healthy soil," she said. "I think being on these tours inspires people to eat healthier. Coming and thinking about how their food is grown encourages people to be more conscious about how they eat."
Beyond the educational experience, Hoy said the tours have become popular community gatherings where neighbors share locally prepared dishes and conversation before setting off across the farms.
"I encourage everyone to come to our farm tours," she said. "They're open to the public, free, fun and informative. Everyone is welcome."
Both tours will be held rain or shine. Organizers recommend wearing closed-toe shoes, dressing comfortably for walking through fields and bringing insect repellent, a hat and reusable dining supplies for the potluck.
For more information about the Bucks County Foodshed Alliance's summer farm tours, visit bucksfoodshed.org/summer-farm-tours.
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