The Happyville Farm project began in 2014 as a network of volunteers bringing fresh local produce to the Community Food Basket-Idaho Falls, to share with the many families served each month.  Like everyone, these families know that fresh produce is an important part of a healthy diet, but due to cost and availability issues, food pantries often have no fresh produce to share. The food basket gardeners were so successful, the project became a farm.

In 2020, we started planting on an acre leased from the City of Idaho Falls, creating Idaho’s only urban, organic food bank farm. The farm has more than 12,000 square feet of drip-irrigated healthy soil for growing vegetables.  The farm also has two orchards with apple, cherries, peach, apricot, pear and plum trees. Our composters help recycle plant waste and kitchen scraps into more healthy soil.  Our beeyard, flower borders and native plant areas support honey bees, native bees, bumblebees and other pollinators as well as other beneficial insects. The back quarter acre of the farm is being developed into an urban forest and woodland classroom. See our farm map for more information.

In 2023, we transitioned to independent nonprofit status.  Every year we donate up to 3 tons or more of top-quality, super-fresh local organic produce to soup kitchens, food pantries, and other organizations serving low-income and nutrition-insecure individuals, as well as sharing our fresh produce with neighbors living all around the farm.

We are supported entirely by volunteers, occasional grants, and many donations -- please use the button above to donate and help keep this farm growing and sharing!

A unique feature of the farm is the high tunnel, also called a hoop house.  High tunnels are solar-powered, plastic-covered greenhouses offering a higher-yield, low-cost solution for keeping crops thriving through every month of the year. Thanks to our high tunnels we can harvest fresh carrots and other tasty vegetables 12 months a year, so we can provide food donations even in January and February when snow is on the ground outside.

Happyville Farm has two high tunnels, built in 2021 and 2024, thanks to generous gifts from the East Side and West Side Soil and Water Conservation Districts.  We complete our commitment of thanks by offering tours of the high tunnels, mini-classes on their use and benefits, and opportunities for hands-on high tunnel construction help whenever we build a new one - High Tunnel 3 is coming in late summer/fall of 2025!

We create our compost with two Earthcubes, a closed-vessel system designed by Green Mountain Technologies in Bainbridge Island, WA. The closed-vessel design prevents access by insects, rodents, stray cats, or dogs and eliminates any potential for odors that could bother people on the farm or neighborhood. Our two composters were built by a local fabricator using IBC totes generously donated by Basic American Foods. Our composters reach over 130 degrees Fahrenheit to kill pathogens and weed seeds while breaking farm waste and food scraps down into the nourishing, nutrient-rich compost that keeps our soil thriving.

Having our composting system saves the farm money and helps demonstrate our commitment to sustainability.  Quality compost helps create a healthier soil and plant root rhizosphere, which is the foundation for healthy plants, so they can grow our healthy vegetables and fruit! 

Our hives (Langstroth and top bar) are a huge attraction at our urban farm. The picture to the left shows the Langstroth beehives, which are vertically modular bee hives with vertically hung frames, an open bottom board with an entrance for the bees, boxes containing frames for brood and honey, and an inner cover and top cap to provide weather protection. Volunteering at the farm is a great way to learn about beekeeping. 

The farm has a water-wise demonstration garden along the street with native plants, focused in particular on the native plants of southeastern Idaho.  With signage and classes, we help show our community how to landscape with plants that need less water, thrive and grow year after year, provide beauty throughout the year, and support bees, butterflies and other pollinators.