Acorn Hill Farm - Walker Valley, NY

Adirondack Grazers Cooperative - New York/Vermont

Aqua Vita Farms - Sherrill, NY

Black Horse Farm - Athens, NY

Campanelli’s Poultry Farm - Kenoza Lake, NY

Catskill Native Nursery - Kerhonkson, NY

Cowbella - Jefferson, NY

Fitzgerald Farms - Kerhonkson, NY

Glebocki Farms - Goshen, NY

Good Fence Farm - Ft. Edward, NY

Hand Picked Farm - Flemington, NJ

Laughing Loon Farm - Northfield, MN

Lucky Dog Farm - Hamden, NY

Oasis Valley Orchard - Overton, NV

Rusty Plough Farm - Ellenville, NY

Samascott Orchards - Kinderhook, NY

Seeds Farm - Northfield, MN

Slow Roots Farm - Kingston, NY

Sprout Creek Farm - Poughkeepsie, NY

foragersnyc:

#foragersnyc #foragesgrocer #plovgh #localfood #spring veggies

This might not look exciting but @plovgh just delivered a lot of local produce to us! We’re really excited to unpack locally grown chives, cipollini onions, red leaf lettuce and potatoes!

Ah, the food system. It’s a mess, huh? Seems like farms, trucking companies, commodity brokers, even retailers that get to gargantuan scale really muck things up for everyone else. That’s why we’re excited to bring small businesses like Matthew Clancy’s into the Plovgh network. Have a look at this local transporter who got your crops into your neighborhood this week.

Transporter’s name: Matthew J. Clancy, Clancy’s Transportation Solutions

Homebase: Rotterdam Junction, New York

Years in operation: We are a newly formed business.

What do you drive? 2010 Chevrolet Express van.

What do you do? We offer the best solution to people and businesses that need something moved across town or across country. We provide our clients with a low cost alternative to the big name companies (emphasis added) with the care only a family owned small business can offer!

Why did you start this business? What’s unique or compelling about how you operate? I started this business to find a more fulfilling way to provide for my family’s quality of life. After years of working for the State of New York as a manager, the time spent away from my wife and children coupled with the fact that I felt uninspired by my work led me to leave it behind in order to focus on making Clancy’s Transportation Solutions (CTS) a success. CTS is a family owned and operated small business aimed at helping our local community and beyond. We are focused on providing custom transportation solutions to our clients that result in the highest levels of customer satisfaction.

Welcome, Matthew! The maiden voyage was a success and we look forward to many more.

We’d like to extend a hearty welcome to Mark, who drives his first Plovgh route today, connecting farms’ harvest with New York City. We met Mark through Slow Food NYC and we’re excited to fuel the movement of harvest from source to city. 

Transporter’s name: Mark Jaffe, The Fresh Connection

Homebase: New York City

Years in operation: 1

What do you do? The Fresh Connection is an NYC-based company that provides transportation and logistics services for food producers who are independent, artisanal, and environmentally and economically sustainable. 

Why did you start this business? What’s unique or compelling about how you operate? Through talking to people and through my own previous experience in the local and sustainable food world I saw that the groundwork has been laid in New York City for a strong local food system with many small- to mid-size farmers producing high quality product and customers eager to receive these goods. There are also many groups and individuals working to build networks for the local food system. However, these networks often do not fully address the needs and challenges of actually transporting product from Point A to Point B (emphasis added). I started The Fresh Connection with the aim of creating an efficient model for product delivery in and around NYC and providing the local food system with an affordable transportation and delivery service.

The Fresh Connection is unique in that we combine practical knowledge of the food distribution industry and the logistics surrounding it with an ideological belief that we must create a food system that supports independent producers whose products are environmentally and economically sustainable, with an emphasis on locally produced goods. We offer a flexible model and are not looking to simply replicate the traditional distributor model but to help in creating a new distribution system that addresses the needs of a local and sustainable food system.

Say hello to Mark when you see him along his route. This kind of collaboration is the beginning of the change we want to see. To get your farm on one of the Plovgh routes, or to order from the farms on Plovgh, get in touch here!

Our third pick for this weekend’s offerings comes from Saucy by Nature. Made from local fresh fruits and vegetables, this season’s flavors include Spicy Pumpkin Ginger (seen above), Tomato Apple Chutney, Spiced Tomato Ketchup, Cider Braised Onion, and Cranberry Pear Topping. Whether you’re in the mood for something sweet, savory, or spicy — they’ve got you(r food) covered.

Order your sauces now on Plovgh through Saturday evening and then pick your order up at the Second Annual Slow Food Show at Jimmy’s no. 43 on Sunday between 1:00 and 5:00pm. Say hello to the Plovgh crew and check out the various delicious offerings from other Slow Food NYC partners. See you there!

[Photo via A Camera in the Kitchen]

Prepare your cereal bowls for a new offering on Plovgh from Granola Lab. Invented by the scientists in the Brooklyn-based laboratory, their granola experiments are the perfect mix of sweet and savory. The current small-batch flavors include “Activation Energy” (coffee, chocolate & hazelnut), “Cranberry-Cashew Compound” (cranberries, cashews & cloves), “Elemental Formula” (maple, pecans & orange), “Get Gingersnapping” (spicy ginger, molasses & sultana raisins), and “Tamarind Fusion” (tamarind, walnuts & dried bananas).

Order your granola now on Plovgh through Saturday evening and then pick your order up at the Second Annual Slow Food Show at Jimmy’s no. 43 on Sunday between 1:00 and 5:00pm. Say hello to the Plovgh crew and check out the various delicious offerings from other Slow Food NYC partners. See you there!

We’re excited for Rachael of Brooklyn Bouillon to offer up her sustainable stocks on Plovgh this week. Take your pick of grass-fed beef stock, pasture-raised chicken stock, or — for you vegetarians and vegans out there — farm-fresh vegetable stock. Perfect for a hearty winter soup to keep you warm and full as the temperature continues to drop.

Order your stocks now on Plovgh through Saturday evening and then pick your order up at the Second Annual Slow Food Show at Jimmy’s no. 43 on Sunday between 1:00 and 5:00pm. Say hello to the Plovgh crew and check out the various delicious offerings from other Slow Food NYC partners. See you there!

While we’ve been on hiatus we have been wondering where you’ve been seeking out your farm sourced goods? Are you nearing the end of your CSA share? Have you been waiting in long lines at Whole Foods? Maybe you’ve been spending your Saturday mornings at the farmer’s market or weeknights scouring through the vegetable choices (or lack thereof) at your local grocer. Let us know. And stay tuned for the next phase of Plovgh.

If not Plovgh, then…

We are starting fresh and bringing back our Urtak survey. Each week we’ll be asking a new question that will cover a variety of topics, from how you choose your produce to where you seek out your news. Conversation requires collaboration after all, so don’t hesitate to share what you’re thinking and submit questions yourself.

Q: Do you care about having a connection with the farm that produces your food?

Plovgh Community

Farm assurance can come in different forms with varying guidelines and fundamentals. What seems to remain constant among farms applying for certification is that they often do so because it indicates that the crops, livestock and other agricultural products they grow, raise or produce are done so in a manner that adheres to standards which imply a level of quality. In addition to quality management, certifications can also highlight principles of traceability, distribution, production and manufacturing methods, hygienic practices and the use of inputs.

Certification schemes can be based on trademarks or governmentally regulated standards, as well as provided through third party, independent agencies and organizations. Among the many recognized programs, the behemoth being the USDA governed National Organic Program, there are more than a dozen state departments of agriculture and over fifty private organizations that are accredited as organic certifiers. In addition there are non-profit and more product oriented programs such as Sustainable Seafood Certification, Protected Harvest, Rainforest Alliance, The Non-GMO Project, and many others.

National Organic Program 

The National Organic Program is a regulatory program conducted by the USDA and is one of the more publicly recognized labeling programs among the agricultural industry. The standards and guidelines presented by the NOP indicate that crops, livestock or other agricultural products have been approved under a verifying system that takes into account production and management processes “that promote the existing ecosystem and conserve biodiversity”. The NOP regulations adhere to standards relative to production and handling, labeling, certification and accreditation.  The program audits the use of inputs at the farm level and complies to guidelines that discredit production methods that involve synthetic fertilizers, irradiation and genetic engineering. The USDA accounts for the authorization of nearly 100 state appointed certifying agencies and the USDA Marketing Service maintains an open database of certifying agents and the operations they verify. Many third party, independent certifiers employ the NOP standards as a basic guideline to organic production, but there are many pundits who believe the USDA Organic label and the philosophies it represents have gone astray.

Certified Naturally Grown

CNG or Certified Naturally Grown is a recognized grassroots certification model that uses an approach to agriculture known as a Participatory Guarantee System. While other programs can require an exceeding amount of paperwork and certifying fees, this system is structured to minimize the barrier of entry by offering a peer-inspection process. CNG is organized around local networks of producers who use natural production methods (no synthetic inputs) and follow traditional organic practices. What sets CNG apart from the USDA organic process is that it is made up of and facilitated by the farmers who participate. The function of peer inspections can also help build a stronger community by creating opportunities for farmers to learn from each other, share techniques and develop support networks. You can find more information about their standards and a map of participating producers on their site.

Food Alliance

Food Alliance is a national non-profit that provides third party certification of sustainable farming and food processing operations. The organization aligns itself with standards that ensure “safe and fair working conditions, humane treatment of animals, and careful stewardship of ecosystems”. This voluntary certification program works with farmers, ranchers and food processers - most are mid-sized or smaller family owned enterprises - and today it has certified over 330 farms and ranches in Canada, Mexico and the United States. What distinguishes Food Alliance from the national organic program is that it looks at sustainable agriculture from a more comprehensive perspective and believes that to ensure a sustainable food system the industry must account for social and environmental strategies not simply the substitution of inputs. You can read more about their certification guidelines here.

NOFA-NY Certified Organic, LLC

NOFA-NY Certified Organic is an example of one of the many state level programs that provides organic certification for producers. Authorized by the USDA National Organic Program, this locally organized NOFA branch facilitates farm and processing inspections by trained verifiers. State run programs such as this are unique in that they work with more mid to small size farms and the staff is equipped with better regional knowledge.

Farmer’s Pledge

The Farmer’s Pledge is an alternative approach to certification that arose from an expressed need among producers to regain control of the term “organic” and what it stands for. Unlike traditional certification, the Pledge is a commitment made to customers and neighbors by certified or uncertified organic farmers that extends beyond the standards of the National Organic Program to include labor issues, community values and marketing approaches. First introduced in 2003, the pledge believes that “the heart of sustainable agriculture is in the integrity of the farmer.” The Farmer’s Pledge while not a substitution for organic certification is an effort by NOFA-NY to help people identify what farms they want to support and offer producers a way to communicate their practices with consumers.

Animal Welfare Approved

Animal Welfare Approved works only with family owned operations that raise their animals outdoors on pasture or range under humane conditions. Producers receive annual audits from AWA certifiers who oversee the animals’ lifecycle from birth to slaughter to ensure that the methods comply to stringent standards of good husbandry. Founded as a market-based solution to the growing interest in where our food is grown, raised and processed, the AWA program strives to offer transparency for consumers and a distinct way to identify the producers that raise their animals according to the highest welfare standards.

Slow Food

Slow Food is an internationally recognized grassroots movement that is made up of a huge network of supporters, members and localized chapters. Slow Food promotes the resurgence of regional food traditions and encourages people to seek out more information about the food they eat and its source. Supported by global and national advocacy as well as local projects and initiatives, the organization provides consumers with insight into real food access and raises public awareness about the importance of social, economic and environmental impacts on achieving a more sustainable food system. The Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity promotes products that follow organic certification standards and that are also ‘good, clean and fair.’

Cornucopia Institute

The Cornucopia Institute is a Wisconsin based non-profit that is devoted to increasing the awareness of the “family-scale” farming community and was established to offer greater transparency of organic standards and regulations. Through education, research and outreach the mission of the Cornucopia Institute is to provide consumers, farmers and the media with insight into organic policy and to protect “the integrity and meaning of the organic label”. As an alternative to the USDA’s organic accreditation program, the Cornucopia Institute developed a comprehensive rating system that provides scorecard ratings for products that carry a certified organic label.