BOZEMAN, Mont. – A longtime Bozeman farm that provided produce to the community closed its doors indefinitely.
The owner spoke with MTN News Friday, wanting to set the record straight.
Strike Farms is a Community Supported Agriculture farm, or CSA.
The farm supported Bozeman area schools, business, even the Gallatin Valley Food Bank, and others could buy subscriptions to get regular boxes of produce for home.
Emails to them this week said that wasn’t going to happen anymore.
Owner Dylan Strike told MTN’s Cody Boyer there is a reason why.
“Business, sales operations are halted here at Strike Farms,” said Strike.
For Dylan Strike, closing Strike Farms was a difficult decision after an even more difficult situation.
“I, personally, was the victim of a violent assault recently and was illegally locked away in a psychiatric hospital because of my religious beliefs,” Strike said.
Strike said he was hospitalized three days.
In that time, he adds other employees left.
“I’m in the position right now of dealing with all of the debts and all of the mess that is going on,” Strike said.
“I can’t say enough good things about them,” said Bailey Evans, owner of Ekam Yoga MT in Bozeman. “Their food was unreal.”
Strike Farms clients like Bailey Evans say the sudden closure caught them off-guard.
Her fitness studio was a produce drop-off location.
“Mostly, we were confused,” Evans says. “We didn’t get that much of a heads-up and we got an email that said this Wednesday, there will be no CSA boxes without any follow-up about what was actually going on.”
Strike says clients like Evans should have the true story.
“Everyone will be refunded,” Strike said. “I’m in the process of getting all of the amounts and all of that put together right now and getting rid of stuff around here in order to pay that.”
The Gallatin Valley Food Bank says some of the cabbages and other crops in stock on Friday were some of the last ones that have come from Strike Farm before the halt.
They say thousands of pounds of produce, alone, come from that farm every summer.
“Over the course of the last five years, they’ve donated over 30,000 pounds,” said Jon Horn, operations manager for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank.
In the meantime, Strike said it is not over.
“I’m still going to keep doing what I have been doing,” Strike said. “It’ll look a little different. All of our fields primarily color cropped. I might do more of a you-pick vegetable, flower subscription.”
He adds that he just wants the record to be set straight.
“The biggest thing is for all of the CSA members, just want them to know how grateful I am to work with them all of these years,” Strike said. “To those who made assumptions, I would just ask that you question your assumptions.”
Strike said he is among others seeking a class-action lawsuit for the psychiatric hold.
He adds it may be some time before the farm will be up and running for the community again.
