Strawberry Picking at Thompson-Finch Farm in New York

In our quest to find organic strawberries, we set off to Thompson-Finch Farm in Ancram, New York. It was an average summer Sunday – we started early because over the past years we have realized that when it comes to picking your own fruit – the early bird really does get the finest worm. Or in our case, the juiciest, freshest strawberries! The crowds are also at a minimum, in fact, lots of cars started pulling in as we were loading our car with berries and getting ready for the drive home.

Our nine year old did not expect to have any fun whatsoever. After all, it’s strawberry picking not Fortnite. He fell asleep on the hour long drive and upon arriving at the farm, picked up an empty basket impassively. We had two rows to ourselves, and as he and my husband started down one, I guided our toddler down another, having wisely chosen the more enthusiastic of the two kids. Or so I thought!

Soon enough, our nine year old got into the whole berry picking adventure, carefully picking the brightest and the plumpest and dropping them softly into the basket, happy as a lark.

It’s a wonderful idea for kids to be connected to the food they eat. Strawberries don’t just magically appear in punnets inside a grocery store. There’s a tremendous amount of hard work involved in planting and growing them, and it’s never too early to teach our kids the same. Our three year old loves strawberries and can eat them at every meal. As I held the stem gently, he pulled the berries off one by one and put them in the basket. He seemed mighty proud if you ask me.

Don and Marnie, the owners, have been cultivating the land since 1982 but the farm has been in Marnie’s family for five generations. The fields are clean and Covid mitigation strategies are followed diligently without taking anything away from the experience. If you go, the direction to the farm are clearly written on their website plus as you drive, the strawberry signs are hard to miss.