Troy Farm is Madison, Wisconsin’s first urban farm and only urban Pizza Farm. I heard about it from a friend in Minneapolis in 2017, but didn’t have time to add it into my pizza farm schedule last year. This 
summer I made sure to coordinate with my old friends that live in Madison to find a week that would work to revisit Cress Spring Bakery on a Wednesday and take my first trip to Troy Farm on a Thursday. I had read about the 5 acre farm on the Northside of Madison and I was eager to get out and see it. Troy Farm is part of Community Groundworks, a non-profit with a mission to help connect people to healthy, local food, which has become a growing part of my overall interest in Pizza Farms ever since I started Last Night’s Pizza Box.
I love the rural pizza farms and experiencing the adventure of a mini road trip out to the country and an escape for the evening, but a large part of my city-girl heart is truly drawn to the Urban Farms. One of my favorite parts of the Troy Pizza Night website is that it includes bicycle directions to the location. I see bicyclists at almost every pizza farm I have been to, even the most rural, but those bike trips are not for the faint of heart or leg. Troy Farm is much more accessible for city bike commuters like myself. And accessibility is so important when it comes to connecting people to healthy, local food.
Troy Farms and the accessibility of it provided me with several opportunities that I don’t always have. I was able to pack up the necessities and bike to the farm. I was also able to meet my parents and some cousins that live in the area there that I haven’t seen in years. Overall it made for a great Thursday Night at Troy.
My parents arrived a little before me. They had time enough to deck out our seating area with pizza decorations and they had ordered one of each pizza, because they know me. Our pizza order was called right as we parked our bicycles, so we had hot fresh pizza waiting for us. It took me some time to get my heart rate down, to cool off, and to get all my hellos and reunions in. My cousins and their family joined us and I hadn’t seen them in a dozen years or more! Once all the greetings and reunions and introductions were through and I had some pizza in my stomach and a little local beer from One Barrel and Karben4 to quench my thirst, I went to talk to the pizza makers. My Dad had already set the stage by starting conversation with the pizza baker and some of the other staff and telling them about my blog and my love of Pizza Farms, so it was easy get the conversation going.
I was quickly introduced to Ida, a farmer that had been through several of the Troy Farm training programs and had been involved in Pizza Nights since they started back in 2016. Pizza Night is held in the 
Community Garden space, but the toppings for the pizza come from the 5 acre farm that is behind the treeline. Ida pointed out the path so that after we talked for a bit, I could take a stroll back there on my own, since I had missed the guided farm tour. I was impressed to learn that the cheese comes in curd form from BelGioioso, a Wisconsin company, and the pizza team stretches it into fresh mozzarella by hand. They take orders until 7pm or after they reach 100 pizzas and on nice evenings they regularly hit the hundred mark. Now in their third year, Ida confirmed they have a pretty good system worked out. They increased their oven size after starting out with a mini one and they have an ordering station, an assembly station, a baker at the oven, and a cutter putting on the final touches. They use reusable metal trays unless you request a box to increase sustainability. New this year was a salad option and other than that, you can bring in the rest of what you need for a picnic. There were enough picnic tables to accommodate all the guests while we were there and live music and chicken coop open to provide entertainment to guests of all ages. My Mom, in her magic way, also brought bubbles, which helped divert the attention of a 3 year old on the edge of a meltdown.
While I was taking pictures of the farm area, I noticed some milkweed plants and quickly reported this information back to the others. The second half of our evening turned into a Monarch butterfly egg and caterpillar expedition, led by Mamo. She is sort of a Monarch expert and was happy to share her knowledge and send our friends and cousins home with some of their very own Monarchs caterpillars to raise and watch become a chrysalis and eventually a butterfly.
In conclusion, Troy Farm had something for everybody. It was accessible and yet still a bit of a retreat from the city. The Roasted Sweet Pepper pizza with scallions, garlic, and tomato was the most popular in our group, although all the varieties were enjoyed and devoured. The Farm Stand was open for business and chock full of beautiful looking produce. Pro tip, bring some water, water bottles, or at the very least some cups. There was one spigot available, but the farm didn’t sell drinks. It was a great evening of family and friend reunions and connecting with local food. I hope I get to visit again soon.
