The Peterborough Planning Board approved an application for the construction of a new mixed-use building at 201 Union Street Monday, Sept. 8.
The applicants, owners and operators of Nubi River Farm, Jasen Woodworth and Elsbeth Pendelton-Wheeler, will be replacing their existing farm stand, which Woodworth said is currently housed in a glorified horse stall, with a new farm market on the ground floor of the proposed building. They plan to change the farm’s name to Homeplace Farm + Market.
They plan to rent two affordable one-bedroom apartments on the second floor, preferably to farm workers, said Woodworth. “It’s really hard to attract good farm labor without housing,” said Woodworth. He also mentioned that the apartments might sometimes be used to house agricultural student-interns.
Woodworth and Pendelton-Wheeler’s farm is on the land of the Nubanusit Neighborhood & Farm cohousing community, and they offer a community supported agriculture program for as many as 100 members, who buy weekly shares of the farm’s certified organic harvest.
Woodworth said that 98% of all the products that will be sold in the market will be sourced from local producers within 100 miles of the farm. He said they plan to get licensed as a commercial kitchen, so they can freeze, process, can and pickle their harvest, enabling them to sell products year-round. “Farms are very seasonal in this region,” said Woodworth, and this would be a way to keep providing local food to the region throughout the winter months.
Woodworth said the farm works with Food Connects, a local food aggregator out of Brattleboro, VT, to carry a variety of local products including cheese and yogurt, meats, baked goods, locally roasted coffee and maple syrup. He said the new retail space will allow them to expand their selection.
Two new greenhouses also are planned. Woodworth said the greenhouses will allow them to grow winter greens to increase production and keep the new store stocked through the winter and help the farm get a head start on production for spring plant sales. “We do pick-your-own herbs, pick-your-own flowers,” Woodworth added.
Construction is likely to begin in the spring of 2026, said Woodworth, with the goal of having the new market up and running by spring of 2027. Until then, the existing farm stand will continue to operate. Woodworth said he is excited that their building plan was approved: “We’ve been dreaming about this for a few years,” he said.
Planning Board Member Lisa Stone asked Woodworth to consider putting in a bike rack, to which he agreed, adding that he hopes being only about a mile from the town center will encourage people to walk and bike to the farm.
Woodworth said he sees opening this new market as a chance to revitalize local agriculture and “bring the farm back to the center of people’s lives.”