Farmers speak of their connection to the soil, but Amy Courtney’s relationship with her farm is as much about the people she feeds as it is about the vege­t­ables she grows. The 40 households in her Freewheelin’ Farm’s CSA function as an extended family for the 33-year-old farmer, who delivers to all of them on her bicycle. “There’s a picture on my wall—a crayon rendition of beets and carrots, and, in a five-year-old’s scrawl, ‘Amy, I love your food.’ Today, that girl is 10 years old and wants to ride along with me.” Then there’s the teenager going through a troubled time who worked on Courtney’s farm every day one summer. “She went home and painted the most amazing canvases of the chickens here,” Courtney says. These friendships speak to an intimacy that no corporate farm could ever dream of, and the bike suits Courtney’s low-key style: “I didn’t have
a car when I started this venture,” she says, “but people get so excited when they see me ride up that it’s become an essential part of the service. I see it as a joyride—the pedal into town is my reward after a day spent working in the dirt.”

Courtney's obsessions

Dirt under her fingernails: “I had this idea to take a sabbatical and spend a year doing other things, but so far all I’ve done is work on the garden in my front yard. It looks great.”

Maximum recycling: “Almost all my equipment comes from somewhere else. The trailer is used, the Rototiller is on permanent loan, and I collect used drip tape and reuse it.”

Bob Dylan: “Of course. That’s obvious, isn’t it?”

Samba: “After working in the field all day, I need something to loosen up my lower back. Samba does the trick, and the music is so delicious.”