A Taste of the Farm: Thank You!
Last Saturday, Local Food Hub hosted our annual Taste of the Farm event. Despite the cloudy skies and occasional drops of rain, the event was a hit — more than 500 community members took the drive out to Scottsville and joined us at the farm. I confess, I wasn’t really surprised — by the time I arrived at 8:00 am for set-up, some eager guests were already pulling into the driveway (despite the event not technically starting until 10:00)!
With a superb team of non-profits, farms, and local businesses coming together as partners, we were able to make this event way more than just a plant sale – while we did have a lovely selection of organically grown, lusciously-green seedlings, we also had food, drink, art, music, and learning opportunities. Oh, and a few pygmy goats for good measure.
While parents picked out plants for their home gardens (either from Local Food Hub or our incubator farm, Cottage View Farm), their children painted murals, made seed balls, visited with the dairy cow, and snapped photos in the photo booth. Afterwards, families settled in the pine grove to picnic and listen to music. Many wandered over and took part in our self-guided farm tour, which featured stops at the high tunnel, the chicken coop, and fields full of vegetables.
A great team of volunteers joined us on Saturday to ensure we were well staffed and ready to serve. Thank you Jean, Sydney, Sarah, Joe, Jessica, Anne, Grace, and Taylor! And thank you Melissa Maki for documenting the day in photographs.
All of this was made possible by our generous partners at the Ballyshannon Fund, who are committed to educational endeavors that encourage greater understanding of rural living, the ethos of farming, and the responsible use of natural resources.
And finally, it wouldn’t have been nearly as fun without our amazing partners: Blue Ridge Music Together, Lucy O Photo, Best of What’s Around, City Schoolyard Garden, Cottage View Farm, Feast!, Vanguard Ranch, and T&N Printing.
