Fat Beet Farm’s Instagram gives me a whole lot of joy. My grandpa owned and worked an orchard, and all the land around me as a kid was used for agriculture. I’m talking cows, cornfields and horses. Tampa has a fantastic, thriving downtown area, with multiple sprawls of gorgeous architecture and small businesses. While I love the boom, it’s also nice to step outside the city and breathe some farm air. Fat Beet offers a darn fine respite — with ample food to boot.
This patch of well kept paradise (13830 W Hillsborough Avenue) has a simple mission: To grow using green initiatives, learn, eat, and connect around the garden table.
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Owners Jen and Tim Curci began the Fat Beet journey back in 2013. The pair bought “a ragged piece of coastal Florida land” with a vision to build a farm in the heart of Tampa Bay to serve “delightfully tasty and nutritious farm-to-table food to the local community,” write the owners.
Initially the pair dug a well for freshwater on the property only to find that saltwater intrusion made it un-useable, so they had to begin collecting rain water. They had tons of food waste and dead plant matter, but didn’t want to send it to the dump, so they began composting. They needed power in the back of the farm, so they installed a solar grid. 
Once they partnered with USF, they excitedly built a bio-digester to produce natural fertilizer slurry from food scraps. Ultimately, the Curcis wanted to show everyone a better way to farm, and a different model for how we produce the food that we eat. In 2020 the Fat Beet Foundation was born, and now the mission has changed: feed people food with integrity, in a beautiful setting, and show everyone how to eat well without destroying the land it is grown in.
Fat Beet Farm is open for guided tours, tour specifically for kids, microgreen workshops, bug expos, boozy yoga, markets and more. You can book tours and learn more about upcoming events on Fat Beet’s website. You can also put your green thumb to work and get your hands dirty during volunteer days at the farm. 
Visit: 13830 W Hillsborough Ave
Wednesday – Friday: 10am-5pm
Hot Food Including Sandwiches Served Until 3:00 PM. Bakery Items Subject to Availability
Saturday – Sunday: 9am-4pm
Hot Food Including Sandwiches Served Until 3:00 PM. Bakery Items Subjectto Availability
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