Luncheon Promotes Farms and Good Nutrition

By Paula J. Schafer
Agricultural Economic Development, CCE Washington and Saratoga Counties

Want to teach people about good nutrition and why they should support local farms? Just offer them an awesome meal all derived from food products from your local farms. In October, Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Saratoga County feed over 100 people a fabulous, locally grown meal. It all started when CCE Nutrition Educator, Diane Whitten wanted to host a fall luncheon and asked for my help. As the educator for the Agricultural Economic Development program for Washington and Saratoga Counties, my focus was to feature our local producers in Saratoga County who could provide the products for the menu.

As luck would have it, I had recently begun a working relationship with Annette Nielsen, a food writer for the Saratogian newspaper. I shared the idea of the harvest luncheon and she was very interested in writing an article about it. Annette had recently written an article where she visited local Washington County farms, so I invited her to do the same in Saratoga County. A few weeks before the luncheon, Diane, Annette and I visited the four main farms that would be contributing to the harvest luncheon.

Our first stop was Thomas's Poultry Farm in Schulyerville, home to 180,000 laying hens with 40,000 replacement birds. The eggs were donated for the spinach quiche made by Diane Whitten. The farm started in 1948 by Jared F. Thomas Jr. and his wife Eleanor Sherman Thomas with 500 chickens. Today the farm is owned and operated by Thomas' son Brian Thomas and business partner Ken Bean. The farm sells eggs as far north as Schroon Lake, west to Utica, south to Kingston, and east into Vermont. Thomas' also deliver to warehouses that distribute their eggs throughout New York State and portions of Vermont. You can also find their eggs in all of the Stewart's stores and in the local IGA's, Bonfares, and Cumberland Farms stores.
Thomas Poultry Farm of Schuylerville, Inc.
192 Stonebridge Road, Schuylerville
518-695-6116 batjdt@spa.net

Our next farm stop was to Foster Farm in Schuylerville, home to grass feed lamb. The lamb was donated for the lamb stew made by Diane Whitten's husband. Once a dairy farm, Carol and Tom Foster along with their two children Abbey and Greg, raise rotationally grazed sheep, grass fed chickens and pigs for two local farmer's market and one farmer's market in Orange County, New York. Foster Farm is an excellent example of a farm that has diversified. In addition to the livestock, they also offer pick your own strawberries, asparagus, compost, pumpkins, and a variety of wool products.
Foster Farm
220 West River Road, Schuylerville
518-695-3058 Foster_Farm@yahoo.com

The third farm stop on our tour was to Willow Wood Farm growing free ranged, grass fed chickens. The chicken was donated for the chicken and roasted vegetables made by Joyce's County Cooking. Bill and Judy Beckman started their farming endeavor in 1998 raising chicken and also turkeys, vegetables, herbs, and cut flowers. The vegetables, herbs and cut flowers are sold at two local farmer's market. The chicken and turkey are only sold to customers who pre-order them in the spring. The chickens are raised in portable pens that are moved each day in the fields of Willow Wood farms. They do not feed their animals antibiotics or growth hormones. The Beckman's are conscientious of providing a healthy environment for their animals and in turn are providing their customers with a high quality healthy product, all while preserving their farm and farmland.
Willow Wood Farm
26 Graves Road, Mechanicville
518-664-0750 judith.beckman@verizon.net

The last stop on our farm tour was to Bowman's Orchard a family destination for pick your own apples. The apples were donated for the apple crisp made by Joyce's Country Cooking. Raymond Bowman with son Kevin Bowman, operates the family operation established in the 1970's. Located in Rexford, they are in the prime area for attracting families who want farm fresh products and agricultural entertainment. In addition to pick your own apples, the farm offers a farm store with cider, honey, crafts, natural farm raised meat, a petting zoo, pony rides, hay rides, horse drawn wagon rides, food, pumpkins and much more.
Bowman Orchard
141 Sugar Hill Road, Rexford
518-2042 sugarapple@earthlink.com
www.BowmanOrchards.com

The luncheon was planned for a Thursday with 12:00 and 12:30 seatings at the CCE's office building auditorium. Very quickly we reserved all 100 seats for the $7.00 luncheon. The remaining ingredients for the meal were purchased at local farms and at the Saratoga Farmer's Market. The menu for the luncheon included:
Chicken with roasted vegetables
Lamb Stew
Spinach quiche with chickpea crust
Mesculin Mix salad Minglewood Farm
Butternut Squash with maple puree squash from John Burger Produce
Harvard Beets Pleasant Valley Farm
Pumpkin pie Smith's Orchard and Bake Shop
Apple Crisp and Blueberry Crisp blueberries from Rutowski's Farm Stand
Milk and Vanilla ice cream Stewart's - donated
Hot mulled cider Knights Orchard - donated

The entryway and room was decorated in fall decor with bales of hay, corn stalks, mums, and pumpkins from local farms along with informational displays about nutrition and agriculture.
While savoring a wonderful meal, the patrons heard from Bob Hall, Town of Saratoga Supervisor and Chairman of the Board, on the importance of supporting agriculture and Saratoga County farms. The second edition of the Saratoga Farms guide was at each table and it was encouraging to see so many open the guide and see where the could get fresh local products.
Diane Whitten spoke about nutrition, health, and food safety issues including nutritional facts about the food they were eating. Recipes for the day's meal were provided.

The harvest luncheon was proof there is support for local fresh products from our farms by the excitement of those who attended the event. Were they thinking local farms when they first came? Probably not. But the harvest luncheon was our opportunity to make them think local farms and fresh products. Education and information is a powerful tool that educators, farmers, and consumer must use. So for your next luncheon, your next board dinner, your next family celebration, buy your products from a local farm. You may not be able to get all of the ingredients and that is ok. But if we all made a conscious effort to buy local, we have the potential to have a dramatic impact for our farmers - keeping them profitable and in business! All while having fresh, great tasting food!

For copies of the Harvest Luncheon recipes, contact Diane Whitten at 885-8995, dsh23@cornell.edu. For copies of the Saratoga County or Washington County Farm Guides, contact Paula Schafer at 885-8995 or 746-2560, pjb11@cornell.edu.

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