When she’s not knuckle-deep in her farm’s gorgeous soil or cooking with her daughters, Andrea dons another hat: real food advocate. In a society that “often values profit over the health of our most vulnerable population,” Bemis is on a mission to bring back our children’s taste buds, one zucchini at a time. She cherishes seasonal, locally grown, mindfully sourced food—even when it takes creativity and effort to source, cook, and share it.

“It’s the way I want to eat,” she smiles. “And that feels so good.”

For Andrea and Taylor, farming success didn’t happen overnight. “When we first moved onto our land, it was a neglected horse pasture that had never been cultivated,” Andrea recalls. “We were able to coax some vegetables out of the land, but they looked haggard and seemed to struggle just to survive. So we made the conscious decision to invest a lot of time and energy into improving our soil and our farming practices.”

Each spring, they spread 200 yards of compost onto their fields. “We use chicken manure, feather meal, bone meal, and blood meal as our natural fertilizers. It takes a long time to build soil, but in the last five years we’ve seen a huge improvement in our crops.” Their vegetables are vibrant, healthy, and bursting with lushness.

It’s hard work, of course—but the Bemis family has support. They barter with their local farming friends for meat, eggs, milk, and other products and often watch each other’s animals, water crops, and generally help each other.

That support for farmers, she believes, is important—both for her family and also for communities around the world. Almost always, Andrea finds, “. . . the small farmers in small local communities are doing it right.” The food can be a little more expensive up front, but the benefits of eating locally are manyfold.

“I wish more people knew and understood that it’s our duty to support our local economy and small-scale producers,” she says. “The farther away your product comes from, the less traceable it is. Do you know where the things in your kitchen were made? How the workers were treated? How the soil is nourished, and how those foods nourish you?”

“When I look at food,” she says, “I ask myself: Is this good for my body? Is it good for the environment? Is it good for my family, and is it good for the world?”

In between stints of collaborating with her daughter’s preschool—she’s helping them apply for local grants for an edible farm program—Andrea cooks with her daughters as often as she can. “If I have one tip for parents of small children,” she says, “it’s to get them in the kitchen with you. And the farmer’s market, and the grocery store, and—ideally—the garden.” Just walk through the aisles, she encourages, and ask them: “What looks good to you? What would you like to make?”

“It doesn’t need to be complicated. Even if nobody in the family has tried turnips before, it’s a fun experiment—and it’s been proven, over and over, that kids are more likely to eat food that they help prepare, touch, or even pretend to chop.” Andrea is the first to acknowledge that her family isn’t perfect, of course. “My kids see a cupcake, and it’s all over,” she grins. “But it’s all about moderation, and we do our best. And cooking is a nourishing activity you can all do together, where you get to bond with your kids and have fun.”