Farm Fresh Rhode Island blog

It’s late August and fresh-dug potatoes are here, with once-a-season texture and flavor! Fresh potatoes are such a different experience that Farm Fresh RI is teaming up with RI DEM Division of Ag, Canaan Produce, 5 potato growers and a dozen groceries to make sure the fresh crop of RI potatoes stay in RI and get enjoyed by RI eaters. Our collaboration is also re-building relationships between local grocers and local potato farmers. Starting mid-September, you’ll find purple Narragansett bags at your favorite local market, with fresh-dug potatoes from:

• Ferolbink Farms in Tiverton
• Lacerda Farm in Portsmouth
• Quonset View Farm in Portsmouth
• Sampson Farms in Westport
• Young Family Farm in Little Compton

Check back for a list of participating grocers in the next few weeks, but first the back story:

Wines aren’t the only reds and whites that flourish along the RI coast. Not too long ago, the fields of Aquidneck and Sakonnet bustled with potatoes that fed New England and beyond. Our RI variety is ideal for making baked potatoes and also potato chips. So much so that Cape Cod Potato Chips began with potatoes from Maplewood Farm in Portsmouth!

The Ocean State’s coastal climate and soils still are fertile ground for spuds. But for years potato prices have stagnated and Idaho potatoes have flooded the marketplace. Local connections and farmer-grocer relationships were lost, and RI potato growers increasingly had to turn to out of state wholesalers – or else grow turf or houses. The farms that still grow food have come out wiser, and nowadays many potato farmers are diversified and grow many other veggies, too. The proliferation of farmers’ markets and recent successes in the RI farm-to-school program have also been key to securing the future of the farmland and our food supply. But RI can produce a lot more potatoes than can be sold at farmers’ markets, and yet there are a lot of Rhode Islanders getting their potatoes from Idaho because supermarkets are buying from national wholesalers. That doesn’t make sense, and it’s not good for farmers or RI.

We think revitalized farm-to-grocer connections will be a foundation for more secure farms and more secure food that will benefit Rhode Island’s farmers and eaters for generations to come. If this fall’s pilot collaboration for selling RI potatoes under the purple Narragansett label works, next year may even be the start of a RI potato growers coop (with a new logo) – not unlike what Rhody Fresh is doing for local dairies and hopefully with all the same success!

Rhode Island wines really shone at the Local Food Fest this year. If you haven’t tried RI wine recently, you’re missing out. The same sea breezes that moderate the climate on Aquidneck and Sakonnet make for complex and deeply satisfying wines. The three Rhode Island winegrowers you enjoyed at the Local Food Fest also offer regular tastings. Follow the Coastal Wine Trail from Newport Vineyards to Greenvale Vineyards to Sakonnet Vineyards and you’ll find the vistas and vines are as grand and pastoral as the flavors. Visit between now and October to see the grapes ripening in the early autumn sun! (By the way, Newport Vineyards’ 2007 Riesling just won Best of Show at an Atlantic wine competition this month, is home to the Saturday Aquidneck Growers’ Market, and produces a “Rhody Coyote” hard cider with local apples.)

Between wines, Local Food Fest guests enjoyed a selection of local brews, from rich and fierce to smooth and sweet, care of RI favorites Newport Storm, Narragansett Beer and Trinity Brewhouse.

Other standouts at the Local Food Fest:

• Goat cheese in a cone (!) from Blackstone Caterers
• Ice cream with peaches from DeWolf Tavern
• Squid salad fresh off Point Judith from Castle Hill
• The Matunuck Oyster raw bar
• Narragansett Creamery’s cheese auction

The work that we’re doing at Farm Fresh to connect local farms with chefs and eaters is all the more important given the news out that RI still is at the top of the nation for farmland prices. (Actually, we’re number two this year. $12K/acre -vs- $12.2K in Mass.) The chefs at the Local Food Fest are committed to RI farmers. We hope that the colorful bounty and seasonal, fresh flavors inspired all of us to appreciate that eating closer to home is both good for our taste buds and good for Rhode Island.

Good rain = good food. But couldn’t it have waited a day? Luckily, the weather is looking like it will be just clouds by 4pm today. So the party is on! We’ll see you this evening under the big tent at Castle Hill Inn & Resort in Newport for a celebration of the RI bountiful harvest. Just think about how much juicier the peaches and tomatoes harvested this morning will be!

Online ticket sales will continue until 1:15pm and then we expect to have some available for sale at the door at Castle Hill. Bring an umbrella just in case and prepare your palate for warm summery flavors, care of these talented local farms and food producers:

• Aquidneck Farms Portsmouth
• Baby Greens Exeter
• Bally Machree Middletown
• Blue State Coffee Providence
• Canterbury Farm Kingston
• City Farm Providence
• Cory’s Kitchen Middletown
• Four Town Farm Barrington
• Greenvale Vineyards Portsmouth
• Ledge Ends Produce East Greenwich
• Lydon Family Tomatoes Tiverton
• Matunuck Oyster Farm Matunuck
• Narragansett Brewing Co Providence
• Narragansett Creamery Providence
• New Harvest Coffee Pawtucket
• Newport Storm Middletown
• Newport Vineyards Middletown
• Olga’s Cup and Saucer Providence
• Rhody Fresh Milk Foster
• Robin Hollow Farm Saunderstown
• Sakonnet Vineyards Little Compton
• Seven Stars Bakery Pawtucket
• Sweet Berry Farm Middletown
• Trinity Brewhouse Providence

The average age of an American farmer is 57. Who’s gonna grow our food? RI has a lot of enthusiastic young farmers, but they face many challenges: land prices, startup costs, lack of agricultural and culinary know-how, lack of local processing facilities, a public that is disconnected from where food comes from.

But right here in Rhode Island we have the will and the ways to address these challenges. We have some incredibly generous “elder” farmers and incredibly fertile land in RI. We have pride in our state and are hungry for food grown in our Little Rhody. What we need is to support new farmers with structures for generational transfer of land and knowledge and also with business models for their young farms… the farms that will grow to feed us tomorrow.

With that in mind, Rabbit’s Dance Farm in Cumberland and Farm Fresh partnered to offer an apprenticeship program for aspiring farmers and food activists. This summer, thanks to funding from the RI Foundation, Goldberg Foundation and Starr Foundation, three interns are dividing their time between organic farming with Kristin at Rabbit’s Dance and food systems work with Farm Fresh to create a context for how farms and food are interwoven with cities and community.

• Laura got farmers on board and then spread the word about the bustling new Woonsocket Farmers’ Market. She’s also co-running a weekly nutrition outreach program at the Armory Farmers’ Market with Heidi, a Food Stamps nutrition educator and Farm Fresh board member. (In her spare time, Laura’s the food forager for Local 121.)
• Lindsay has been interviewing farmers all over the state to assess needs for a planned commercial-grade processing kitchen (think local tomato sauce!) and for more efficient farm-to-city delivery models. You can also find her selling Hill Orchards apples and peaches at the Hope High Farmers’ Market.
• Hannah is the smiling face behind the Market CSA at the Armory and Downtown Providence markets. Each week she coordinates with farmers and then sorts together a well-rounded bag of RI produce, eggs and bread for our 50 member families. In its first season, the market CSA program will bring $20,000 in income to RI farmers. Hannah also volunteers with the harvest at City Farm.

More bright spots for new RI farmers: Farm Fresh is also collaborating with SEMAP on their Farms Forever program that currently runs in Southeastern Massachusetts. And the newly passed Farm Bill provides more loan programs and many target new farmers who lack significant financial resources. RI has a lot of first-generation farmers and so Farm Fresh is excited about opportunities in the impressive new Beginning Farmer & Rancher Development Program.

On a related note, two weekends ago Rhode Island was visited by a film crew from the Greenhorns, an upcoming movie that examines how young people are changing the food system. The filmmakers stopped to speak with Katie of Scratch Farm and Louella of Narragansett Creamery, and then meandered through the Broad Street and Hope High markets in Providence. They’ll be back next week to cover more farms and our Local Food Fest.

We’re lucky to be living in a place that boasts such a thriving culinary scene. Rhode Island’s breezy coasts and fertile inland soils produce fine wines, succulent shellfish, plump fruits and delicate greens. They’re the perfect mix for a cadre of inspired chefs who know how to craft these quintessentially Rhode Island ingredients to thrill any palate.

So it will be a delicious occasion on August 6 when ten talented chefs gather at the Local Food Fest to benefit Farm Fresh RI. Each paired with a local farmer, they’ll offer a guided tour for the tongue that celebrates the harvest of the fields and waters of the Ocean State:

• Castle Hill – Jonathan Cambra
• Newport Restaurant Group – Casey Riley
• Blackstone Caterers – Derek Jolie
• Chez Pascal – Matt Gennuso
• DeWolf Tavern – Sai Viswanath
• Gracie’s – Joe Hefner
• La Laiterie – Matt Jennings
• Local 121 – Dave Johnson
• New Rivers – Bruce Tillinghast
• Nick’s on Broadway – Derek Wagner

Buy your ticket online for a flavorful evening at Castle Hill in Newport. Taste the bounty and wide-ranging flavors of summer in Rhode Island.

One more note: the Local Food Fest was the brainchild of Chef Casey Riley, once the Executive Chef at Castle Hill and now Culinary Arts Director for the Newport Restaurant Group. Casey pioneered many of Castle Hill’s relationships with local farmers and we’re excited to have him back as a chef at the Local Food Fest in its second year.

…if it would just rain! Rhode Island soils are parched. We need a good solid rain to produce plump apples, peaches, summer squash and tomatoes. At the Pawtucket market today, Allan Hill of Hill Orchards said that for the most part the early season varieties he has in his orchard, which are usually ripe by now, are still just a little too small. He had a few at the Hope High market this past Saturday, and with some help from the clouds above, there will be more at markets starting this week.

We’re at a great point in the season: the return of crisp apples, fleshy peaches, juicy ears of sweet corn, aromatic basil, and the first outdoors heirloom tomatoes – so many summery flavors to savor. And don’t forget about blueberries; there’s nothing like a picking a fresh blueberry warm from the sun.

Based on the forecast it looks like we’re in for some rain this week. But it may be better not to leave anything to chance. Time for a rain dance, in between blueberries!

The RI Local Food Fest, if you haven’t already heard, is August 6 at Castle Hill in Newport. The evening celebrates the harvest of the Rhode Island fields and waters, and doubles as a fundraiser for Farm Fresh.

Join us for a taste of 11 chefs’ visions of the season (including a very friendly cook-off in the VIP hour) inspired by the harvest of a dozen local farmers and food artisans, and accompanied by wines, beers and a raw bar. Here’s what else is special about this year’s Local Food Fest:

• 100% compostable evening. Thanks to Blue State Coffee and Whole Foods, all dinnerware and food waste will go back into healthy RI soils.
• Back-of-the-house tours led by the roasters of New Harvest Coffee, the bakers of Seven Stars, local farmers and fishermen. And many more opportunities for flavorful outings at the auction.
• Superchief Trio. These local favorites know how to jazz up a party.
• Sunset at Castle Hill. The ocean view is not to be missed.

Buy your Local Food Fest ticket online now!

Our farmers’ market schedule really gets humming this week with three more market openings:

• Tuesday 4-7pm in Woonsocket. This year, the market is in a new home at St. Ann’s. (Last year’s market was not on a particularly visible street and was held on Monday mornings, a time that isn’t very convenient.)
• Saturday 9-1pm in Providence on Broad St. It’s part of our collaboration with Southside Community Land Trust. The market is a quieter alternative to Hope High with a wide variety of colorful produce from 3 great farms. This year will also feature pies, bread and dried beans.
• Sunday 12-3pm in Pawtucket. Now three years old, it’s a busy market with a dedicated following and a healthy variety of farms, produce and bread. The crowd draws from a mix of families young and old – there are always lots of children – who are stocking up for the week. Since the market is easily accessible from 95, there are also folks from Providence getting what they forgot to pick up at a Saturday market!

All 3 markets will accept cash, EBT, credit cards, WIC and Senior vouchers, as do all 8 city farmers’ markets run by Farm Fresh.

By the way, each year we ask a different local artist to print a poster that captures the spirit of the markets across Providence and Pawtucket. The photo is of the 2008 Farmers’ Market poster by Jean Cozzens. It’s a gorgeous vision. If you have a chance to get up close with one that’s been posted around town, take a few moments to appreciate the detail of the market and farm landscape. She’s written a bit about what went into creating the poster.

The poster serves as a pretty reminder that there’s a Providence-area market every day of the week where you can enjoy fresh food from RI farms!

Support your local farmers this Independence Day. It’s one way you can vote for a food secure future. Fresh healthy foods for all Rhode Islanders!

Stock up for a deliciously local July 4th weekend:

• Zucchini and littlenecks for your BBQ grill
• Sandwiches with sliced tomatoes, lettuce (or spicier mustard greens) and some fresh bread
• Berrie apple pie with fresh ricotta for dessert

The Downtown Providence Market will be closed for July 4, but please visit the Armory Market on Thursday, Hope High Market on Saturday or one of the many other markets across the state.

Oh, and it’s almost last call for pick your own strawberries! The silver lining: raspberries.

• Bitter: Last Thursday we sent out an e-mail alert to 1,800 farm and food loving Rhode Islanders that the state’s farmland preservation program was in danger. It’s the first time we’ve ever sent such an alert, and it was for good reason: one of the few programs RI has in place to ensure a sustainable future for our state’s food supply was about to be shut down. (RI also stood lose millions in federal matching funds every year.) Soon after our e-mail came the news that, without any debate, the RI State Assembly voted 31-37 against allowing a November vote on $5 million for farmland preservation. The decision has been made behind closed doors. (By the way, RI voters overwhelmingly support farmland preservation, by 70% to 30% in the 2004 election. Go figure!)
• Sweet: Fast forward to Saturday. Your phone calls and e-mails to state senators and representatives helped a last-minute bill pass the Assembly and Senate to allow RI voters to decide on a $2.5 million bond for farmland preservation this November. It won’t cover all of the need, but it makes clear that our farms and our food are a priority even and especially during hard economic times. Your calls reached legislators and gave Rep. Walsh, Rep. Loughlin and Sen. Sosnowski the backing they needed for this surprise and very bi-partisan victory. Thank your senators and reps for voting to support our farms and our food!
• Very sweet news: We’re already been noticing an upswing in traffic at the markets this year. Last week strawberries, apples, turnips, basil and arugula were in short supply and sold out quickly. It’s happening at both long-running and newly opened markets, like the new Friday farmers’ market in Charlestown. Happily, the summer weather has brought more abundance, though it still helps to get to the market early!Thank you for supporting Rhode Island farmers and choosing food that nourishes our local communities. It’s working – though it would be great if more of the people who make policies and write our laws understood the important connection between our farms and our food, too!

Please support Farm Fresh RI’s strategic work to create infrastructure for a vibrant, lasting local food system, that supports vibrant family farms and healthy communities across RI.