Rob Montalbano loves his job. Even though he works year-round, from sunrise to sunset, he can’t imagine doing anything else.

Montalbano and his wife, Christina, own Montalbano Farms, 17551 Frazier Road in Sandwich. When the Montalbanos aren’t out in the fields planting, weeding or harvesting crops, they do maintenance work on their tractors, greenhouse and six high tunnel hoop houses. In April, they will host a seed starting class and plant sale. Throughout the year, they plan crop rotation and choose to plant different plant varieties.

The Montalbanos haven’t always been farmers. Rob grew up in Chicago and Christina grew up outside of San Francisco. The two met when they worked on a farm together in 2006. In 2011, they started their 100-acre farm in Sandwich.

“I’ve always been interested in food and nutrition, but I knew that farming was my calling when I first tried it,” Montalbano said. “I love working outside, being able to grow things. We wanted to build and create a farm, so that when we’re gone from this world we leave it a better place. It’s important to us that we support organic agriculture and local, community farming.”

The farm is certified organic by the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, and 25 acres are used for community supported agriculture (CSA) vegetable farming.

In a CSA, community members pledge to support a farm by becoming shareholders. The shareholders pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer’s salary, sharing the risks and benefits of food production with the growers.

In return for supporting the farm, shareholders receive portions of the crops grown throughout the season. CSAs offer different share options, with participants receiving fresh vegetables and herbs throughout the growing season.

One CSA share at Montalbano Farms costs $590. Shareholders receive a paper bag-sized amount of 8 to 12 different types of vegetables and herbs each week for 16 weeks, from mid-July until the end of October. When receiving vegetables, shareholders stop by the farm to either choose an assortment of fresh-picked vegetables farmers market-style, or they have the opportunity to harvest their own vegetables from the fields.

“Right now is the time to join our CSA because we are starting to seed for the summer,” Montalbano said. “Since we grow everything from seeds, plants take time to grow. We’ll be planting in a couple of weeks, so now is the time to join so we know how much to grow.”

More than 70 different types of plants are grown at Montalbano Farms, including 12 varieties of peppers, 20 types of tomatoes and four kinds of carrots. Vegetables in every color of the rainbow are grown, from traditional red tomatoes, green cucumbers and yellow onions to the more unusual white carrots, striped peppers and purple string beans.

“If it can grow in this climate, we grow it,” Montalbano said. “The only thing we don’t grow are citrus fruits. We even have a small orchard that’s still growing, with 12 types of fruits including plums, apples and pawpaws. … Most farms in the Midwest grow corn and soybeans, not for food, but for corn syrup, plastics and ethanol for gasoline. As an organic farm, we grow food for food.”

Montalbano says he loves having a CSA and plans to keep farming and helping feed the community for as long as he can. He hopes joining a CSA will help families learn more about the food they eat and how it’s grown.

“What I love about CSAs is that I can get to know customers, meet the families and they can meet me, the farmer,” Montalbano said. “I can see their kids grow up, and they’re growing up eating our vegetables. … The best part of my job is that I sell food to families. We can get fresh vegetables like carrots into our kids, not cookies or McDonald’s Happy Meals. You are what you eat.”

In addition to growing vegetables and herbs for the CSA, the farm grows 50 acres of alfalfa. As part of the farm’s crop rotation, the remaining 25 acres are planted with clovers, grasses, legumes and milkweed to enhance biodiversity, prevent soil erosion and support native insect and small mammal populations.

Brenda Simcik of Naperville has been a volunteer with the farm for four years, and she said what she loves best is how the Montalbanos give back to the land and the community.

“They are just so dedicated to the craft of farming,” she said. “I do consider it a craft, because they’re doing something they love. It’s important for them to preserve the land for the next generation. They see themselves as caretakers of the land, they don’t own it. They support the community with CSAs, and they donate so much food to local food pantries. They love farming, and it shows in the crops they grow and all they do.”

LEARN MORE

To find out more about Montalbano Farms or to purchase a CSA share, visit www.montalbanofarms.com, call 630-882-8008 or email farm@montalbanofarms.com.