HELENA SYLVESTER
Farmer and creative of Happy Acre Farm and Harvest Queen in Sunol, California
I’m excited to invite you to my conversation with Helena Sylvester, the farmer and creative force behind Happy Acre Farm and Harvest Queen.
Happy Acre farm is located in the rolling hills of Sunol, California. Helena and her partner Matthew started farming after binge watching a bunch of eye opening documentaries about our food system. They wanted to know where their food came from and wanted to provide healthy food for others. They built their farm on one acre of rented land in the Sunol AgPark.
We visited Helena and Matthew in the winter of 2019 when she was seven months pregnant with their son August. It was an exciting but stressful time as the couple considered their farming future with a new baby. Although it is a constant juggling act, Helena has found creative ways to make farming with a baby and toddler work from both a day-to-day perspective and a financial perspective.
Helena now works part time on the farm and part time on the brand team at Carhartt - a role she pitched to the company after working as a brand ambassador for them. In addition, she continues to build Harvest Queen, a passion project encouraging people to eat seasonally and support their local farmers. After working the farmers market circuit for many years she realized how desperately there needs to be more education when it comes to the cost of food, seasonality and supporting your local farming community. Harvest Queen has become a trusted resource for people in the Bay Area and beyond - who want to connect their food chain dots.
I am so inspired by Helena’s fearless attitude when it comes to trying new things, creating her own opportunities and using her voice and platform to educate and amplify the voices of farmers and farm workers. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for this hardworking woman as she continues to build Harvest Queen and Happy Acre Farm’s olive oil business.
I encourage you to follow her journey online and to check out her Urban Exodus feature from 2019 when she was seven months pregnant with her son August (see link below).
Thank you Helena for sharing your story with us!
LINKS
• Instagram: @happyacrefarm @helloharvestqueen