Farmer Spotlight: Stasha Boyce
Photo by Chelsea Dimyan, Chelsea Photography Design
“Health and farming always go hand in hand.”
Ever wonder where those detailed and delicious farm box recipes come from? It’s no surprise that their author is personally connected to the produce and tips suggested- but it’s more than just ‘a teaspoon of this’ and ‘5 chopped cups of that’ type of connection. Stasha Boyce has her hands in it all: marketing guru, sales analysis extraordinaire, and your favorite face at Spade & Plow farmer’s markets.
After graduating with her AA in medical assisting, Stasha shared her healthcare skills working for Good Samaritan, the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs healthcare system, and eventually as a nanny for the Stanford Doctor community. And how all this connects with farming? Glad you asked. Health and farming always go hand in hand. At the Palo Alto VA, Stasha spent her time caring for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, researching their nutrition, food, and how each patient could best absorb the most nutrients with their medications. As a nanny for different Stanford doctors, the expectation to keep kids well fed was an equally high priority - “How can I plan meals that are best for their brains, bones, and bodies as a whole? How can I keep the children consistently connected with nature so they know where their food is coming from?” Pressing questions like these, both for the young and the old patient, planted a seed in Stasha’s entrepreneurial mind which eventually took root and pushed her to pursue a business degree from San Jose State University. Lucky for us, while in school, her roots spread 30 miles south to Spade & Plow.
“If I could define wealth, it’s what you put in your body.”
Stasha and Adrienne working on Spade & Plow’s 2021 Flower line-up!
Photo by Chelsea Dimyan, Chelsea Photography Design
Years later, Stasha is just as passionate about the farm-to-table movement, as well as how to connect the consumer with quality produce and information about its nutritional value. She’s the gal that listens to your favorite tomato variety, analyzes how many Honeynut squash you purchased in December vs. January, and puts all the facts together to help us make better decisions on what to grow season over season.
Her hard work in the marketing department includes lots of spreadsheets, graphs and research on what’s trending- because social media isn’t the only one who cares about trends.
“The work I put in now isn’t for me to exclusively benefit from. I want the farm to do really well. If I’m part of making this a great thing, then that makes it all worthwhile.”
Amidst the Covid pandemic, Stasha managed to finish her business degree and begin her MBA, still faithfully crunching numbers and selling veggies with Spade & Plow. Somehow, she’s still not tired of all the flowers and food, so continues to cultivate her own thriving backyard garden. Though her 17 raised beds and canvas bags may not be quite as dominating as Spade and Plow’s 10+ acres, Stasha sees that the seed-to-harvest process teaches the same valuable lessons which “trickle in to all other aspects of life.” It’s no surprise that she sees the lasting impact agriculture has on an individual and a community: “The work I put in now isn’t for me to exclusively benefit from. I want the farm to do really well. If I’m part of making this a great thing, then that makes it all worthwhile.”
Photo by Talia Engelhardt