The Jon Satz Memorial Fund
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO MADE THIS CAMPAIGN SUCH AN AMAZING SUCCESS. JON'S SPIRIT SHINES THROUGH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. THIS CAMPAIGN IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING DONATIONS.
On August 25, 2021 the world lost a most generous man. Farmer Jon Satz died suddenly, following a courageous fight with cancer, leaving his family and the community with a deep hole.
Organic vegetable farming was Jon’s passion in life. He was a pioneer in the state and shared a wealth of farming knowledge with those he met. Jon farmed on his land in Brandon, VT for 22 years with the masterful assistance of his Jamaican farmworkers, who were employed through a migrant worker program. The rhythm and seamless stride these men had together was something to behold. Each year, they left their families behind in Jamaica and returned early in the spring to Vermont, their “second home”, to help tend the land they loved dearly for upwards of 8 months at at time. Jon knew the farm could not operate on the level that it did without them. They were tireless in their pursuit of what needed tending, and their intuition kept the farm in motion. They worked the farm at Wood's for nearly 65 years, collectively. These men were honorary fathers and brothers to Jon, and his commitment to them was deep and steadfast.
With Jon's cancer diagnosis in the early spring of 2020, difficult decisions had to be made to change the operation of the farm. At that time there was no vaccine, and Covid was shutting down the world. We were forced to change the retail end of our farm stand and eliminate field crops for the season. This meant that the Jamaican crew would not return to our farm, and Jon's quest to find them other options began. He played an essential role in getting their paperwork changed quickly so they could still return to the US for seasonal work, even if just for a few months. Ultimately, our team of four guys split up and worked on other farms in the north east for the summer, then returned again in the spring of 2021 to farms in northern VT and MA. Although they longed for nothing more than to come back home to Brandon, they were extremely appreciative of the opportunity for employment again.
Through the years, Jon and I supported their Jamaican families year round in the hope of helping them secure essentials for a better life. Many of them used every bit of their earnings to put their children through school, leaving little to spare. Sometimes they just needed help with purchasing a phone card, simple home improvements, or car maintenance. Whatever the need, it was met. What seemed a small gift from Vermont meant a world of difference in their much less privileged lives. Even in very lean farm years, Jon and I were able to find ways to demonstrate our gratitude to the Marshall, Blackwood, and Harrison families. After all, their labor was the physical backbone of the farm and a major part of the foundation of Jon's success.
These men are farmers, just like Jon, growing food for our communities, an ocean away from their own. They will continue to be employed through the H2A program at other farms. But the friendship, work ethic, and love of growing Jon shared with them has made them a part of our Wood's Market Garden family forever. Jon would have wished nothing more than to see them provided for. It was Jon's intention to continue this relationship of appreciation, despite the fact that his farm would not continue to operate. Through your generosity, his kindness of heart will carry on.
