Beyond Pick Your Own - Summer Gatherings on Local Farms

Travis Marcotte, Executive Director of the Intervale Center, is estimating farmers in the Intervale have lost 20-50% of their annual revenues due to the flooding.

Stuck in the Mud at Intervale Community Farm, Photo by Becky Maden

In these tough situations, Community Supported Agriculture programs help farmers through.

But the benefits don’t just flow from the community to the farm. I propose CSAs are also models of ASC – Agriculture Supporting Community. While we pay the farmer for their fresh food, the community gatherings that happen on farms, connecting our small community and deepening relationships, are just as important. 

There are so many cool opportunities to get out on farms this summer. Here are ones happening in Burlington’s backyard. See you there!

The luminous fields of Bread and Butter Farm in Shelburne 

Burger Nights at Bread and Butter Farm

Every Friday (through September 30)

4:00 – 7:00 p.m.

200 Leduc Farm Drive, Shelburne

Bread and Butter Farm sells their bread at City Market and the farmers’ market, but if you’ve never been out to their soft-green land where they sell fresh raw milk from their farmstand, this is the perfect excuse. Every Friday evening in June the farm hosts a burger barbeque with beef grown on the farm, accompanied by live music. 

 

 

American Flatbread's clay oven serves pizzas at Thursdays at the Intervale

Summervale, Thursdays at the Intervale

Every Thursday evening, June 30 – September 29

5:30 - 8:00 p.m.

180 Intervale Rd, Burlington

Think of Summervale as the perfect picnic but with all your favorite people, amazing food, and live music. There's a beer garden, American Flatbread wood-fired pizza oven, plus far more popular local restaurants offering food and drink. There are alway plenty of activities for kids - we'll be there each week with a new hands-on activity plus there's always the frog pond and the fireflies for more rustic entertainment.

Heart of the Islands Bike Tour gathers at Snow Farm Vineyard, South Hero

Heart of the Islands Bike Tour

Saturday, July 9

10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

$35 adult/$15 youth

This two-wheeled tour of the Islands stops in at farms and artists along the way and is also a benefit for Local Motion – 10% of the proceeds are donated to this great non-profit and with the flooding damage to the bike path and causeway, Local Motion can use all the support we can give them this season. Routes range from 10 miles to 37 miles and the (relatively) flat, easy terrain of the Islands, the tour zips along, passing through East Shore Vineyard, Blue Heron Farm, and Hackett’s Orchard, just to name a few.

 

NOFA Vermont Beekeeping Workshop Last Summer

NOFA Vermont Summer Workshop Series

NOFA (the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont) may sound like it’s just for farmers, but they have a neat series of workshops this summer for gardeners and homesteaders too.

A few that caught my eye are the “Urban Hen House Hop” through Burlington to check out those backyard chicken coops and “Weed Dating at Stony Loam Farm” for those of you looking for more than just vegetables at a farm. 

 

 

 

Crop Mob at Intervale Community Farm Last Fall

City Market Crop Mobs

Crop Mobs are work parties on farms to help the farmer accomplish a big project. September will find us helping legendary farmer, Jack Lazor (of Butterworks Farm), harvest his dried beans. We’ll also pay a visit to Rockville Market Farm to help them bring in their butternut squash. And there's a very special Crop Mob scheduled for Saturday, October 8, helping harvest the local rice being grown down at Boundbrook Farm in Vergennes.

 

Participants in last year's Tour de Farms, somewhere in Addison County

Le Tour de Farms

September 18 in Shoreham

Another two-wheeled adventure, this time through the fields of Addison County. While I haven’t seen the schedule yet for this year’s tour, I attended two years ago and found it contained two of my favorite things – biking through easy, beautiful scenery and eating! Highly recommended. 

 

 

Eat Local Week

October 1 – 9

Burlington

Details are still being worked out but put the dates on your calendar now because you won't want to miss this one. We’ll be kicking off Eat Local Week with City Market’s annual Harvest Celebration as an appetizer and followed by main dishes of farm tours, localvore dinners at Burlington restaurants, and cooking classes throughout the community.