By: Betsy Peirce, Produce Manager
In the Produce department we are particularly excited by a few of our local farmers who have decided to add winter storage for their crops on their property. This allows them to extend the season and provide us with local edible delights into the colder winter months. Our produce team recently toured these particular farms – River Root Farm, Patchwork Green Farm and Canoe Creek Produce – all of which have added walk-in coolers. In addition, Patchwork Green built a beautiful hi-tech root cellar along with a heated packing shed. River Root Farm has also expanded their greenhouse production dramatically.
It was a great experience for our Produce team to go together and meet the farmers on their own ground. We were able to walk around their beautiful properties, see their extensive operations, talk about tools, greenhouses, irrigation, succession planting, and graze on the bounty they provide for us at the Co-op.
Each farm has different growth strategies. We were very impressed by the forethought that they have each had in expanding their volume for the winter months, as well as the careful thought they put into how they will accomplish it all.
If you haven’t realized it yet, this all comes back to you – the member/owners and customers. You get to partake in this exciting expansion of local production by supporting these farms on a daily basis at the Co-op.
