Chip In For Healthy School Lunch!
In addition to elections, holidays, and chilly autumn weather, November in Virginia also brings something delicious: Farm to School Week!
While we serve fresh local produce to 52 area schools every single day, Farm to School Week gives us an excuse to go a little crazy. By partnering with cafeteria managers and staff, we not only put lots of local fruits and veggies on lunch trays, but we supplement it with healthy, local, grass-fed beef.
Chip In Now!
But here’s the thing: pastured, local beef costs farmers a lot to produce (that’s why most schools are forced to serve…less savory choices). But we’ve found a way to bridge the gap: Our Farm to School Fund.
Using the power and commitment of our community, we can crowd-source the funding we need to feed thousands of kids in Charlottesville, Albemarle, Nelson, Greene, and Waynesboro public schools.
So, what do you say? Will you chip in a few bucks to put fresh, healthy food on school lunch trays? Just $10 can feed more than 50 kids!
Last year, you helped us raise more than $800 in less than a week, and helped feed public school students fresh, delicious local food. This year, thanks to a generous gift from the Albemarle County Rotary Club, we only need to raise $500 by November 16.
Donating is fast, easy, and completely safe — and 100% of your gift goes towards our Farm to School Fund.
Partnering Farms
This year, we’re partnering with some great local farms to ensure a consistent supply of healthy, grass-fed beef for school lunches.
Sherwood Farm: Sherwood Farm Premium Virginia beef cattle are born and raised in Albemarle County on land that has been under conservation easement since 2005. Free of hormones and other artificial growth stimulants, they graze lush grass pastures until they reach full size and are then gradually introduced to their finishing regimen of grain and natural silage, much of it grown at Sherwood. This proprietary diet, humane handling, and a peaceful environment all contribute to raising un-stressed animals that produce beef of the highest quality. To ensure buttery steaks, delicious burgers, and mouth-watering roasts, Sherwood beef is dry-aged for a full 28 days before delivery, making it truly the connoisseur’s choice. For information on how you can purchase Sherwood beef for your table, please email beef@sherwoodfarm.net.
Prospect Farm: Prospect Farm is nestled on 170 rolling acres in the heart of Central Virginia. This family homestead is committed to providing our customers with delicious and healthful 100% grass-fed, local, humanely raised and harvested beef. Their Black Angus and heritage Devon-cross cows graze on sweet nutrient-rich grasses and clover that do not see chemical fertilizers, sewage sludge, or pesticides. The herd never receives growth hormones, routine antibiotics, or by-product feed supplements.
Best of What’s Around: Best of What’s Around is a local farming operation situated four miles north of Scottsville, Virginia. Originating as six separate but contiguous farms, the property was purchased by Dave Matthews and his wife Ashley Harper in 2002. The name of the farm, taken from a DMB song, emphasizes the focus and intention of the farm: growing and providing the very best of everything around, keeping to high standards of integrity, sustainability, and quality. Their philosophy of growing is to focus on achieving an overall balance, sustainably and naturally. Best of What’s Around currently sells beef from a herd of about 300 grass fed cattle. They are raised and grass-finished on the organic grasses grown on the farms.