When Amanda bought a food truck before she even owned a car to tow it, she knew one thing for sure:
This wasn’t just a business decision.
It was a heart decision.
“Food is a love language for me.”
Today, her business — Assunta’s Food Truck at Nourse Farm , highlighted in Episode 86 of the Agri-Tourist podcast— is serving more than breakfast sandwiches and grilled cheese. It’s serving connection, nostalgia, and a true farm-to-table agritourism experience.
A Childhood Rooted in Food and Family
Amanda’s passion for food started early — long before the food truck, before professional kitchens, even before college.
By age 12, she had a stand mixer. By her early teens, she was making elaborate birthday cakes and traveling to visit her culinary hero — her great-grandmother, Assunta.
“She was the matriarch. She knew everyone’s favorite and had it ready the moment you walked in.”
Assunta’s pesto, stuffed zucchini, and labor-of-love recipes shaped Amanda’s cooking style — deeply personal, rooted in tradition, and centered on feeding people with care.
That’s where the food truck’s name comes from. Assunta wasn’t just a relative — she was a symbol of gathering, comfort, and food as family.
From Farm Store Employee to Food Truck Owner
Amanda’s connection to Nourse Farm started years before she ever stepped inside a food truck kitchen.
She worked at the farm store all through college — scooping ice cream, stocking shelves, jarring jam, helping with CSA pickups, and even running social media one summer.
When the farm’s previous food truck closed, Amanda had already seen the inner workings of a farm-based food business.
Still, she hadn’t planned to buy it.
Until someone asked her one simple question:
“How do you own that?”
That question sparked a business plan, a vision board, and eventually a leap of faith. By January, she owned the truck. By May, she was open for her first season.
“It was the confidence to say yes that was the biggest hurdle.”
Casual Comfort Food, Farm-Fresh Flavors
On a typical weekend at Assunta’s Food Truck, visitors find approachable comfort food with an Italian twist — made with ingredients sourced right from the farm whenever possible.
Popular Menu Favorites
- Pesto Grilled Cheese (a customer favorite)
- Breakfast Sandwiches on Focaccia
- Fresh-Squeezed Lemonades with house-made fruit syrups (blueberry sold out faster than any other flavor)
- Seasonal Soups, Salads, and Wraps
- Parfaits and Baked Goods
Even the simplest items have a farm connection and a nostalgic feel.
“We wanted comfort food at the center — like eating at your family’s house.”
Upcoming additions include smoothies, kid-friendly plates, and even Italian-inspired arancini (crispy risotto balls).
Sunday Suppers: A Farm-to-Table Dining Experience
Beyond everyday meals, Amanda created something truly special: monthly Sunday farm dinners.
These ticketed, multi-course meals bring guests together at long shared tables overlooking the fields.
“It’s the best outdoor dining spot in Westborough — I’ll commit to that.”
The dinners are designed to feel like a big Italian family meal — communal, seasonal, and deeply tied to the land.
A Sample Farm Dinner Menu
- Seasonal Pickles (including pickled strawberries!)
- Fresh Bread with Herb Butter
- Farm Salad with just-picked vegetables
“Someone said it felt like their salad walked right onto the table.” - Family-Style Eggplant Parmesan
- Mixed Berry Cobbler with Herb Whipped Cream
Most ingredients are harvested days — sometimes hours — before dinner.
“That’s the beauty of farm-to-table eating. It connects you to your food in a way we aren’t anymore.”
Guests often arrive as strangers and leave as friends, lingering long after dessert.
More Than a Food Truck — A Community Hub
What surprised Amanda most in her first season wasn’t the cooking. It was the business side — permits, inspections, planning, and the sheer workload of running a food business while holding a full-time job.
“It was even more taxing than my full-time job — and we were only open two days a week.”
But the reward?
“I’m most excited to see all the familiar faces again.”
Regulars became part of the rhythm of the farm. Families made it part of their weekly routine. CSA members grabbed breakfast before picking up vegetables. Kids drank blueberry lemonade while parents lingered over coffee.
That’s agritourism at its best — not just food, but belonging.
Food as a Bridge Between Farm and Community
Assunta’s Food Truck shows how a small farm food business can deepen the visitor experience at an agritourism farm.
It connects people to:
- The land where their food grows
- The seasons that shape the menu
- The farmers who harvest the ingredients
- The neighbors sharing the table beside them
“You can really shop and grow and eat local — and have it be this amazing experience.”
At Nourse Farm, that experience now comes with a side of pesto grilled cheese and a seat at a long table under the string lights.