Our Vermont Location

Tourists come from all the world to visit Vermont. Some people say it is like the way America used to be, with small towns and villages, miles of forest and farmland, friendly people, and home-cooked meals. Today Vermont is known for its restaurants with locally-sourced food and the many breweries and distilleries, including the award-winning Hill Farmstead Brewery.

In the rolling hills of Vermont known as the “Northeast Kingdom” is Cabot, a tiny rural farming community known around the world for its award-winning Cabot Cheese. This is also the home of the Helfand Retreat Center.

Many years ago, Israel Helfand decided he would like to eventually live on a farm, as his grandparents had done during the Great Depression. Finally, in 1997 he and Cathie bought a forty-acre farm with a run down 1850s house and farm buildings. About half of the land is wooded for their outdoor retreats, and the rest is the counseling center, farm buildings, grazing area, hay fields, and personal gardens. All the buildings have been rebuilt with lumber harvested from their forest.

The farm provides most of the meat and vegetables for the family. They raise lamb, beef, and chickens for eggs and chicken dinners. In the past years they raised Black Angus steers. They have organic horse-quality hay fields. Of course, they have several cats and dogs as would be expected and an occasional deer, bear, or moose wanders by to help itself to some of the farm produce.