Today we’d like to introduce you to MaryBritton Cummings.
Hi MaryBritton, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My husband, Jody, and I have 4 children and when they were ranging in ages from 1-9 years of age we began to long for an alternative to “city living.” We were convicted ourselves about how little knowledge we had about taking care of ourselves without outsourcing, and we wanted our children to have exposure to “farm living”. We purchased West Glow Farm in 2017, in hopes of learning how to grow food and raise livestock and in turn become more self reliant. Over these past nine years, we have learned how to live more sustainably, but we have had to hire others along the way to teach us. So we have been growing the farm operation and the West Glow Farm business each year to develop a model that allows us to keep moving forward. We offer a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) subscription box, we host events in our Barn event space, and we have a cabin where we can host people who want to spend the night on the farm. In the fall of 2025 we launched the West Glow Farm Community Fund so that we can receive tax-deductible gifts to feed families in need. We are partnered with a Metro Nashville Public school in order to feed 25 families fresh produce this summer when kids are not getting breakfast and lunch at school. Every day, we are working hard to live out our mission statement: Resurrect the Land, Grow Healthy Food, and Gather our Community. We are beginning our 7th season of actively selling produce and each year, we learn something new as we continue to tweak our model in order to offer the highest quality products to our customers.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has most definitely NOT been a smooth road! We have had many struggles along the way and we continue to make strides to overcome these hurdles. First and foremost, finding our customers and the market gaps that we might fill, while simultaneously trying not to offer everything in hopes of finding customers. We have had to learn to offer only what aligns with our values, energy and abilities. The greatest challenge has simply been making it make financial sense and running the operation as a sustainable business that generates income rather than losses. In this “Amazon” culture, it is very hard to compete as a small scale farm business. Because we are not formally trained in farming, event management, or marketing, we have had to hire – and lean on – our team to guide us. We have an incredible team of talented people that each share our vision and goals of where we are headed and that has been a gift. Finally, we now live on the farm, so separating personal and work space on the farm can at times be a delicate balance. We have been focused this year, in particular, on keeping the reasons that we started the farm in the forefront of our minds and not losing sight of our “why” or exhausting ourselves to the point that we miss the joy and the gift of living sustainably in tandem with nature.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about West Glow Farm?
We offer a subscription produce box that can be picked up every week or every other week in both Kingston Springs and Nashville. We also have partners that supply our customers with beef, pork, chicken, sourdough bread, and granola if they are interested in buying protein and bread from local farmers. We are very excited to be partnered with a business, Good Better Best, who sources home products that are free of chemicals that damage our bodies and the earth. We have an event space that we use for cooking classes, community events, and we rent out the space for weddings, special parties, corporate retreats, etc. We have a cabin that is available for rent if people are looking for a peaceful overnight stay on the farm. Recently, we launched a non-profit fund so that we can help get food to families who cannot afford our CSA box and we hope to teach others, especially our marginalized communities, how to grow their own food. For the past 5 summers we have been the host for a magical summer camp for children, Camp Sparrow Song, and this year we welcome a second day camp, Camp Watermelon. Both of these camps will have weekly farm lessons, play in the creek, learn to play music and celebrate the great outdoors! It is pure joy to watch the campers immerse themselves in nature and fill the farm with sounds of play and laughter.
I think people are surprised at how close we are to Nashville (only 30 minutes or less) and how secluded our property feels when they arrive. I am most proud of the community we have created and the partnerships we have curated over these past few years. We want people to know they can trust us, and all of our partners, to deliver clean, toxic free food in an environment that is committed to partnering and learning from nature, our best teacher. We also hope to inspire families, neighbors, couples and friends to make time to prepare food in their homes in simple and creative ways, gather around a table with the ones they love and savor the tastes and nutrients that only come from local farms and makers. We believe this act of “breaking bread” together can heal many of the problems facing modern society.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I remind myself regularly that if people visit West Glow Farm, look up at the sky to notice the stars for the first time in a while, sit by the creek and feel a peace that they desperately needed, or feel a connection to God and are reminded of His love, this farm is a success. I believe we were designed by God to live in connection with nature, our food and with each other. Modern society has advantages for certain, but there are also negative consequences that are plaguing most of us in some way at this moment in history, and we strive to offer solutions for our community. Measured success for us would be helping to shift the broken food system, teaching others how to grow their own food, and inspiring families and friends cook and eat together daily. Our focus is to inspire people to celebrate the produce grown in each season, advocate for animals being raised on pasture in accordance with their design, and to cherish the loved ones they have been given to share life. The end goal is to shift from taking these gifts for granted and, instead, recognizing them as treasures.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://westglowfarm.com
- Instagram: @westglowfarm
- Facebook: West Glow Farm
