John-Paul’s Farm is operated by spouses John-Paul Runyan and Jane Kaminski. Since founding our business in 2021, we have been aiming to care for the land we farm on in ways that will make it more enjoyable for plants, animals, and people. Producing and sharing food makes us happy.
Jane‘s background is in bicycle and pedestrian advocacy and non-profit operations. Jane has been serving as the board president of the farmer-volunteer-run non-profit Indiana County Farmers’ Market since Fall of 2022, and completed a Land Advocacy Fellowship with the National Young Farmers Coalition from 2022-2024. She is motivated by task completion and community connections.
John-Paul is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with degrees in Philosophy and English. He worked many years in grocery observing problems with the food system and says he knew he would someday live on this farm and produce food. John-Paul is motivated by learning.
Jane and John-Paul produce food for markets in Indiana, PA and Squirrel Hill Pittsburgh, the local ICCAP Food Bank, and cooperate with local farmers to swap goods for sale.
Located in East Wheatfield Township, Pennsylvania, John-Paul’s grandpa, Paul, farmed this land from the 1960’s until 1987 (RIP). The farm stayed in the family for decades after, but didn’t see agricultural production by the family during that time. The farmland is co-owned by multiple family members, and Jane and John-Paul operate a farming business on this land as first-generation farmers.
Now, using climate-smart growing methods, taking insights from organic practices, we’ve been investing in the soil to grow delicious vegetables. We have planted dozens of trees and shrubs, and look forward to the fruits and nuts they bear.
When not tending to the farm or preparing food, John-Paul and Jane enjoy riding bicycles on the quiet roads surrounding our farm.
Methods
Using a mixture of traditional and contemporary methods, our produce is field-grown, seasonal, and hand-harvested.
Cover-cropping is used to build and protect soil on our farm. We aim for low-tillage methods, utilize drip-irrigation for efficient water delivery to vegetables from our pond, and only use organic-approved pesticide when necessary. John-Paul’s Farm is enrolled in Pasa Sustainable Agriculture’s Climate-Smart Agriculture program.
