Our Story

The Rental Farmer was built from a simple belief:

Good food should never go to waste, and communities are stronger when people know how to grow it.

Long before The Rental Farmer existed, founder Rachel Wesler was growing up on a rural homestead in Oregon where food was grown, preserved, bartered, and shared. Horses were used for transportation. Gardens helped feed families. Resourcefulness wasn't a lifestyle trend on social media, it was simply everyday life.

At seven years old, Rachel learned to glean after a local farmer noticed the desperate need in her home and offered to pay her twenty-five cents for every pail of berries she picked. That experience planted a seed that would shape much of her life: abundance exists all around us, but it often needs helping hands to reach the people who need it.

Over the years, that lesson grew into a lifelong passion for gardening, food systems, community resilience, soil health, pollinator habitat, and practical ways to help people reconnect with the land around them.

Today, The Rental Farmer exists to help grow stronger local food systems through education, community partnerships, food recovery efforts, and community-based gardening projects.

Through Community Roots, Iron County Gleaners, educational resources, and future community garden initiatives, our goal is simple:

Help more people grow food.

Help less food go to waste.

Help communities become more resilient.

A Family Effort

The Rental Farmer has always been supported by family.

David helps behind the scenes with projects, planning, logistics, and turning big ideas into reality. Together, we believe meaningful work happens when people invest in their communities and care for the places they call home.

What We Believe

We believe:

• food is a community resource

• practical skills create resilience

• gardens should support people, not overwhelm them

• sustainability should be approachable

• small actions create lasting change

• and stronger communities start close to home

Two people smiling outside in a backyard, one woman with long hair and sunglasses, and a man holding a yellow power drill. There are trees, a wooden fence, and a house in the background.
A garden with green leafy plants, small yellow and white flowers, and potted succulents on a brick border around a raised planting area.
A backyard garden with a person standing next to a outdoor shelving unit with plants in small pots. There are trees, a red fence, and utility poles with wires in the background. The sky is clear and blue.

How we started…

A backyard garden with a variety of plants, trees, and flowers, surrounded by a fence and a well-maintained lawn. There are multiple power lines and a utility pole in the background under an overcast sky.

How it’s growing!

A garden with a dirt pathway lined with various plants and tall cornstalks, surrounded by greenery and trees.
Garden with potted plants, green mesh fencing, and a cat lying on the grass in the foreground. Tall trees and flowering bushes in the background.
Lush backyard garden with leafy plants, trees, a small garden fence, blue recycling bin, and power lines overhead.
A small seed exchange box with a painted flower design on the side, located outdoors in a park. The box contains various seed packets labeled with different plant names, and a sign on top reads, "Please take only what you need."
L-shaped backyard garden with a wooden greenhouse and raised black planter beds filled with leafy green vegetables, surrounded by a white fence and neighboring houses.