When Malaika Spencer and Ian Knauer finally opened the doors to their new kitchen and tasting room at Roots to River Farm in New Hope, it marked the end of a multi-year journey and the beginning of something much larger.

The couple’s vision goes well beyond a farm stand, writes Seth Siditsky for MercerMe. At Roots to River, a certified organic farm, open-air market, working kitchen, and gathering space exist under one roof, woven together by the same community focus that has guided Spencer and Knauer for years.

Spencer built her reputation through rigorous organic vegetable production, while Knauer carved out a culinary career that took him from the test kitchens of Gourmet magazine to authoring a cookbook and hosting a PBS television series.

Together, the couple established Roots to River Farm in Bucks County in 2013, and developed a loyal following through their earlier work at Gravity Hill Farm in Hopewell Township, New Jersey.

At the new facility, visitors can browse freshly harvested produce, gather around communal tables, attend hands-on cooking classes, and return weekly for pizza nights and seasonal farm-to-table menu items, all while looking out over the fields where the food was grown. CSA pickups happen here too, grounding the marketplace in the rhythms of the farm itself.

For Spencer, the new space represents the chance to build intentionally, from scratch, with a partner who shares the same values. “We’ve been able to be more intentional about that in this iteration,” she said, “which is cool because we’re building this together from scratch.”

Learn more about Roots to River Farm and the farm’s new kitchen and tasting room in MercerMe.

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