Thanksgiving and The Spotted Pig

Rob Thompson had been working on a 700-cow dairy farm and was starting to burn out when his mom showed him a “help wanted” ad for a farmer in New York’s Catskill region. As Rob discovered, Thanksgiving Farm was no ordinary farm.

Thanksgiving Farm is a beautiful 350-acre farm that not only feeds the staff and students of The Center for Discovery but also educates residents and helps them find meaningful work. The Center for Discovery is the home for 350 special-needs children and adults ranging in age from 5 to 21 and staff of about 1,400. The Center changed the way families were able to interact with their children who suffered from multiple disabilities and needed full-time care by making itself an open place built around families and not a warehouse for children to be left and not seen.

When April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig met Rob and toured the farm, she knew this was a place she wanted to work with. Not only did Rob raise pigs of beautiful proportion and fat-to-meat ratios, but she “fell in love with the place and the work they do.” April found Thanksgiving Farm and The Center for Discovery so inspiring that she comes back to cook for their fundraisers and looks forward to calls from Rob when he has extra pigs to supply her restaurant.

Rob finds the idea of famous chefs and food lovers that know his name “entertaining.” April has invited him down to New York City a few times to eat at The Spotted Pig, and when he finally took her up on the offer, he said that her famous burgers were so good that he could have eaten two of the enormous creations. As Rob continues raising chickens, pigs, beef cows, and dairy cattle that are certified organic, he is also taking Thanksgiving Farm to the next stage by becoming certified biodynamic. With these new certifications, Rob is learning as much as he is teaching to the residents of The Center for Discovery.

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Learn about an Amazing Place for People with Disabilities: The Center For Discovery