04/22/2026
🫐 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT 🫐
We look forward to welcoming guests to River & Root Farm’s blueberry u-pick opening day TOMORROW. Our hours will remain WEDNESDAYS, SATURDAYS, and SUNDAYS from 8am-6pm or by private appointment for as long as there are berries available.
Following the harrowing wildfires this week in Alachua County and elsewhere in North Florida, including, as we write to you now, a 160-acre fire just a few miles west of the farm on State Road 18, we have made the decision to temporarily rescind our announced access to the farm’s trail system that leads to the Santa Fe River. While we have full trust in our customers to act responsibly - we simply cannot risk unsupervised access at this time. The slightest mistake could have devastating consequences to the farm and our surrounding community.
🫐WITH THAT BEING SAID🫐 - our previously announced $5 entry fee is OPTIONAL until further notice. Visitors may make use of our lounge area, our picnic tables, and will have the same access to our field of blueberries you have become accustomed to throughout the years. Picking prices remain as announced. We will also have water, sparkling water, seed-oil free snacks, and honey (from the bees that pollinated our berries this year) available for sale.
🫐REAL TALK🫐 - no matter how successful our season is this year, this farm will be operating at a significant financial loss. This is due to a combination of factors - the worst freeze in at least 3 decades, global inflationary pressures on mandatory necessities such as fertilizer and equipment, farm infrastructure and supply issues we were in the dark about, commitments not honored, labor shortages, and more. As we approach the eve of the re-launch of this historic operation, make no mistake - this farm’s future, like the future of so many others - is very much in doubt.
If you feel compelled to support the next generation of farmers to stay in the fight to feed the world healthy, SPRAY-FREE food like our blueberries, to fight against our broken, monopolized food systems by building new systems from the ground up, to live our values, to advocate for clean water, and to JOIN US in the fight to protect Old, Wild Florida - we will gratefully accept that financial support any way you see fit. But we will not impose a last-minute, mandatory fee on our customers when we cannot currently provide the access to our beautiful property during this historic drought in the way we had envisioned.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. River & Root Farm looks forward to welcoming you tomorrow for our Earth Day Grand Opening.
With Gratitude,
David Tuthill
Owner
