Page 32 - Vallet Table - Spring 2020

work unencumbered,” she recalls. The decision was not an easy one, and meant long days with her baby strapped to her as she tackled chores and worked the market; but it also meant she was able to breastfeed and make time for both of her passions. Her dual roles as a farmer and caregiver conflicted as her son entered his toddler years, yet Bialas knew that, in the end, she would persevere just as her grandmother had done.
Today, Thomas is often side by side with his grandfather in the fields, learning about farm equipment and growing cycles and anything else his family will teach him. Although Bialas is adamant that her son’s path in life is his choice, she’s happy to witness the joy he brings to the dinner table whenever he learns something new in the field.
“It’s really an amazing thing to watch the transfer of knowledge and passion that goes on between [Thomas and my father],” she enthuses. “I’m really grateful that we have this chance.”
FOOD AND THE FUTURE
As a family farmer, a woman farmer, and a mother to boot, Bialas has her finger on the pulse of the past, present, and future of life at Bialas Farms. She knows what it took to get the farm
to where it is today, just as she understands first- hand the dedication and patience required of the next generation to get it where it needs to go. From her post in Orange County, she’s witnessed the changes that have rippled across the farming industry in recent years. Many of them have impacted her farm directly, including the push to become more educated about food and its origins.
“We teach people how to use our produce and eat like a farmer,” she says. Such a practice is easier now that she and her parents made the decision to stop selling at farmers’ markets in 2016. Although they valued their community presence at the markets — not to mention the additional income — the physical and emotional demands of schlepping produce from one corner
It's really an amazing thing to watch the transfer of knowledge and passion that goes on between [my son and my father]. I'm really grateful that we have this chance.
— Kasha Bialas
30 the valley table march – may 2020