Farm Fresh Rhode Island blog

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!