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Turner Farms says pumpkin festival and farm tours connect Missoula families to food systems
Summary
At a Home Resource event Turner Farms described hosting school tours for up to 1,000–2,000 students, running an October pumpkin festival that diverted pumpkins from landfill (they cited 118,000 pounds sold last year), and using farm events to build community and teach regenerative practices.
Presenters from Turner Farms told a Home Resource Lunch & Learn audience that farm tours and the annual pumpkin festival are central to connecting Missoula residents — especially children — to the origins of food. A presenter said the farm typically hosts school tours that bring what they estimated as "1,000 to 2,000" students to the Missoula area each year.
The Turners described the pumpkin festival as a major community draw and said they routed unsold pumpkins into livestock feed or composting partnerships rather than landfill. “We sold 118,000 pounds [of pumpkins] last year,” a presenter said, and the farm partners with organizations such as Soil Cycle to collect excess pumpkins and keep them in the nutrient loop.
Speakers framed the festival and tours as community-building events that pause daily stresses and bring a diverse cross-section of the public to the farm — from families to people of differing political views — and said those moments help sustain the farm’s mission and local food literacy.
The presenters invited attendees to attend farm events, volunteer or enroll youngsters in internships and farm camp programs that teach hands-on regenerative techniques.
