The Holmestead
The Holmestead
Origin Story & Identity
Before I started the business, I struggled with health issues. After years of suffering, I left corporate life and embarked on a journey of self-discovery and healing, which led me to the realization of the importance of quality, farm-to-table nutrition. This personal revelation sparked a desire to serve the local community, leading to the birth of The Holmestead in 2023 and The Holmestead Harvest in 2025. Today, alongside my husband Josh, we remain committed to tackling food insecurity and cultural detachment from real food, providing quality produce and educational opportunities to the DFW community with intentions to expand into other exciting areas in the future such as transitional housing, faith based care, and employment to aging out foster care women.
Fun Fact:
We use our last name Holmes in the name of our business! We put the Holmes in Holmestead!
What is your process? How do you refine over time to get here?
I started on my own, followed by recruiting my mother to help working farmers markets... Braving the unpredictable Texas weather with me and dishwashing in the kitchen. Unglamorous, I know - but necessary! Haha! My husband joined the team full time, a year later.
How do you go about selecting your ingredients and supplies?
Researching everything that we buy to ensure safety and quality. No chemicals, preservatives, or pesticides.
What do you grow and produce?
We grow microgreens, hydroponic veggies, and herbs year-round. And more pecan trees than we know what to do with. Our bakery produces sourdough and sourdough baked goods.
What are you most proud of producing?
We’re proud to produce clean products that grocery stores can't provide! No preservatives or pesticides.
What are your best sellers?
Bagels! And flavored focaccias we rotate seasonally.
Shop The Holmestead
Philosophy & Practices
How would you describe your growing or land-stewardship philosophy in your own words?
We treat our bakery and the land we live on like a family member!
What’s something about your practices that most people don’t know - but should?
Before we release a new item to market we heavily test it between family and friends for taste, texture, and quality. We also pray over our products before distribution.
What’s the biggest challenge of growing or making food the way you do?
Timing! Knowing when to germinate seeds, or when to ferment levain for each baked good so everything runs smoothly preparing for customers. We have it down to an exact science.
Daily Life & Personal Connection to the Work
What’s your favorite part of the work you do every day?
Performing with excellence, knowing you gave it your absolutely best, every day. I can never *not* say I didn't give it my all - even the most small and mundane tasks! The majority of the behind the scenes work is cleaning.
What’s your favorite way to enjoy something you make?
Sourdough bagels with cream cheese and our microgreens! Wasabi is my favorite! It's not super spicy, but full of flavor and a peppery afterkick.
What are you excited to grow, offer, or dream up for the future of the farm?
Fruit and Veggies: We are eager to scale up our farm by converting an old dairy barn into a hydroponic warehouse. We also want to turn our back acreage into an orchard. Our workshop will be converted into a walk-in fridge to store more produce as we scale up.
Fishing and Farm Tours: There are plans to open up our loaded catfish pond to families that want to fish in addition to tours and hayrides for extra family friendly fun.
Transitional Housing/Advocacy Program: We are excited to have existing camper hookups, housing, and potential advocates to open up to women in need of assistance when we can take that project on.
Food Pantry: Converting the *huge* garage attached to our future housing facility into a food pantry. The driveway and location right off the highway is perfect access for the local community. Plus there's a beautiful view of the pond and barn.
Children's Curriculum/Book: I have a curriculum in the works with music and fun pictures for kids to follow along with at home or in a class setting. This teaches on how to grow and harvest food. Chef Prepared Meals A dream we have is to do exclusive seasonal farm to table meals featuring local produce with chefs quarterly. Eating with the seasons is a philosophy we try to live by for optimal wellness.
Slideshow
