MARANA, Ariz. (KGUN) — Stacy Tollefson and her daughter were inside their RV on the property of Veggie Joy Farms on August 23 when a monsoon storm tore through Marana, collapsing the greenhouse that served as the backbone of their business.
"And all of a sudden the wind blew me back in," Tollefson said. "And at that moment, the RV was shaking, and the glass started breaking on us, and we could just hear those winds going. And then my cabinet fell down, and we couldn't... we just screamed because we couldn't go anywhere."
Tollefson said the winds were strong enough that she believes the RV could have flipped over with them still inside — if not for a shaded structure built over it.
"You can see this whole structure... it put weight on it so that it wouldn't flip," she said. "I think that's really what happened, because if you look at the strength over this greenhouse, I mean, it pulled the metal out of the ground."
Once the storm calmed, Tollefson and her daughter ran to a neighboring property for shelter. They returned to find the greenhouse destroyed — and no insurance to help cover the damage.
"It's almost impossible to get coverage for greenhouses," Tollefson said. "There's just no insurance companies that want to do that."
The storm also destroyed one of the farm's chicken coops. Tollefson said nearly all of her chickens survived — only one did not.
Veggie Joy Farms had only been open a year and a half. Tollefson, along with her two children, grew heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce and herbs on the property, selling at local farmers' markets and to restaurant and wholesale partners around southern Arizona, including Time Market, Coronet Restaurant and Pivot Produce.
"This is a huge loss because I put all my retirement money into fixing things that were wrong with the greenhouse from previous," Tollefson said. "So I put all my retirement into it, and now it's gone."
Tollefson said the damage likely runs into six figures. In the days immediately after the storm, she said she was running on shock and optimism. As the reality of the loss set in, she said the emotional weight of it followed.
Despite the setback, Tollefson said she isn't ready to walk away from farming.
"I just want to keep doing that," she said. "I have the skills, I have the know-how, and I need to share that. I need to be able to help people."
She said the community support Veggie Joy Farms has built over the past year and a half is part of what's driving her to rebuild.
"The community support that we've had through the last year and a half has been tremendous, and that is definitely a piece of why we want to continue," Tollefson said. "Because we know people love it, they want to have these products, and there's not enough of it here in town."
If you'd like to help with the rebuilding process, you can visit Veggie Joy Farms' website.
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Kenny Darr is a reporter for KGUN 9. He joined the team in January 2023. Before arriving in Arizona he was an Anchor and Reporter at KADN in Lafayette, LA. Share your story ideas with Kenny by emailing kenny.darr@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
