New farm stand deals local foods along one of Mattapoisett’s busiest streets

MATTAPOISETT — Nobody understands the message better than a pig farmer, Michael King — a pig farmer — said. It’s a message that hasn’t changed in the nearly a decade and a half that King has preached it: Local, sustainable food systems — in an industrial food society — are important.

A lifelong Mattapoisett resident, King is the proprietor of Wyandotte Farm on Route 6, which raises chickens, ducks, rabbits, goats and guineafowl, plus pigs.

The pigs feed on food from Fieldstone Farm Market and are processed less than 20 miles from the farm; the chickens are processed in Rhode Island then come back to Mattapoisett,  according to King.

Now, some of that food from the local and sustainable system “farmer Mike” preaches is available along a well-traveled Mattapoisett road. Wyandotte Farm opened a stand on North Street in July. Sold at the stand is protein from Wyandotte, which opened 14 years ago, with produce from other local farms.

“It takes a community to support a farm,” King said. “We haven’t had a community space for our farm until we got this spot.”

A farm stand operated by a man named Gary Rego formerly occupied the space, until Rego died two years ago, leaving a “a hole in the area,” according to King. 

“Hopefully we can fill in that void,” Cameron Newcomb, an employee at Wyandotte Farm, said. 

The 7-and-a-half acre property also contains a house, its interior gutted, and a barn that King hopes to restore. There are also plans to potentially plant crops at the site.

“This is purposeful to have nutritional, local food available to anyone, and anybody that comes here that can’t afford to eat is going to not leave here hungry,” King said. “They will be fed because we have plenty of food. That’s the truth.”

The items available at the stand vary by the day. A whole chicken that had been “clucking Thursday morning” was available for customers that Sunday afternoon. The freezer on site also held a pork shoulder, ground pork, as well as belly, jowl and linguica bacons.

“It’s the lowest carbon footprint protein money can buy in this area, and it’s delicious,” King said. 

Supplementing Wyandotte’s wares of meats at the stand are items from other farms, like honey, sunflowers, heirloom tomatoes, cherries and shishito peppers, for example. 

“Most farmers don’t grow everything that they sell at their farm stand,” King said. “They depend on other local farmers, and it’s more of a collaboration.”

Newcomb said the farm has had “tremendous luck” with the number of customers visiting the stand. 

“We’re just expanding, constantly expanding,” he said.