09/04/2026
2026 is the International Year of the Woman Farmer! The New Jersey Department of Agriculture is proud to highlight women farmers across New Jersey who play an impactful role and continue to shape agriculture in the Garden State.
This spotlight features Kelli Chiarello of Salt Bridge Farm, in Toms River, New Jersey.
🌱What type of farming operation for you run?
Produce / Fruits / Vegetables
Nursery / Greenhouse
Therapeutic agriculture and workforce development farm.
🌱How many years have you been farming?
Lifelong. I spent my childhood working alongside my Pop on Felice’s Poultry Farm in Hamilton, NJ, where I learned that farming is equal parts hard work, patience, and heart. Salt Bridge Farm now allows me to carry those lessons forward in a way that connects agriculture with healing and community.
🌱Briefly describe your farm operation.
Salt Bridge Farm is a therapeutic agriculture and community healing farm in Ocean County, New Jersey. We grow produce, maintain greenhouse operations, and use agriculture as a pathway for healing, skill building, and connection to the land. The farm was designed to bridge two lifelong passions of mine, farming and helping people. Through hands-on agricultural work, individuals facing behavioral health challenges, housing instability, or life transitions can reconnect with purpose, community, and nature. We are also redefining what a modern farm can look like. At Salt Bridge Farm you’ll find vegetables growing alongside recovery programs, youth learning life skills in the greenhouse, and even Mack, my bully rescue, proudly serving as the farm’s unofficial guardian. Mack may not be a traditional farm dog, but like many of the people who come here, he was given a second chance and now protects the farm like it has always been his home. Our goal is simple: grow food, grow community, and grow opportunities for healing.
🌱What inspired you to become a farmer?
Some of my earliest memories are working alongside my Pop on his farm. He taught me that farming is not just about growing food. It is about patience, stewardship, and taking care of the land so it can continue to give back to others. He passed away while I was still young, but those lessons remained with me. What he taught me about service above self has guided my path ever since. As I built my career helping people through behavioral health and community programs, my farm life had to pause. However, I realized that many of the same principles I learned on the farm still applied. Connection to the land, meaningful work, and caring for something bigger than yourself can help people heal. Salt Bridge Farm was born from that realization. It allows me to bring together the two things that have always mattered most to me: farming and helping others. Here, agriculture becomes more than a livelihood. It becomes a pathway for growth and resilience.
🌱What advice would you give to other women considering a career in agriculture?
Agriculture has always required strength, resilience, and creativity. Those are qualities women bring naturally to the field. My advice is to trust your instincts and understand that there is no single way to be a farmer. Farming today can look different than it did generations ago. It can involve education, community building, conservation, and using the land to help people reconnect with purpose and with each other. The most important thing is to stay rooted in the values that drew you to the work in the first place. At Salt Bridge Farm we are growing vegetables, but we are also growing confidence, skills, and hope. Even my rescue dog, Mack, reminds us that leadership can be born from second chances. He may not look like a traditional farm dog, but he protects the farm with his whole heart. In many ways he reflects what the farm is about. When something is given care, patience, and the chance to belong, it can grow into something stronger than anyone expected.
Follow Kelli and Salt Bridge Farm here 👉 https://saltbridgefarm.org/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575752786336 https://www.instagram.com/saltbridgefarm/ https://www.tiktok.com/ https://brightharbor.org/
