The Special:This week we are pleased to feature fresh basil, fingerling potatoes, mixed beets, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, carrots, kale, basil, dill and chicken from Pete’s Greens of Craftsbury, Vermont. All this week, Chef Casey Graham will use locally-grown Pete’s Greens veggies and herbs in main dishes, appetizers, soups, and salads. Be sure to ask your server about tonight’s Pete’s Greens Special!
The Farm:Pete’s Greens is a certified organic vegetable farm in Craftsbury, located on the southern edge of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. They are a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), providing weekly shares of vegetables to members of the local community, and they have a farmstand in scenic Craftsbury. The folks at Pete’s Greens are making a name for themselves and the Green Mountain state by providing high quality Vermont produce and meat products to restaurants and markets in Vermont, Boston and New York.
Pete’s Greens:
Craftsbury, VT – Pete’s Greens of Craftsbury is not your average small Vermont farm. During a time when so many are going out of business due to rising energy costs and an inability to compete with big agriculture, Pete’s Greens and a number of other small agricultural businesses in the Hardwick, Vermont area are thriving and even expanding production. A rising demand for local, organic, and safely processed foods is creating markets for vegetables, eggs, and meat from Pete’s Greens as far as Boston and New York.
Pete Johnson, owner, is a native of Greensboro, VT. He’s been farming for over twelve years, six of those on his land in Craftsbury. Pete is a big believer in small-scale agricultural production. “We are really interested in rebuilding village-based local food systems,” he says. For Pete, it’s a matter of long-term sustainability. “A lot of factors are pointing to local and regional production,” he notes. “As energy costs rise, so will the price of food that is shipped long distances. Soon local food will be almost as cheap as stuff grown elsewhere.”
Greenhouses powered by recycled vegetable oil allow the folks at Pete’s Greens to supply vegetables to wholesale and CSA customers year-round. Members of their Localvore CSA receive 30 pounds of locally produced vegetables and other Vermont products once a week throughout the year. This includes six to eight varieties of vegetables and three to five local food items, like Elmore Mountain bread and pies made with organic apples from Champlain Orchards. At $792 per yearly share, it’s a small price to pay for delicious produce, Vermont products and for the peace of mind that comes with eating safe, healthy food.
Recently, Pete’s Greens and other Hardwick, Vermont area businesses have garnered a good deal of positive local and national press. With their success and growth comes a role of leadership and advocacy on behalf of other small Vermont farms. “We want to stimulate the success of local business,” Pete says. Last year, Pete’s Greens purchased over $300,000 worth of products from other local business for their Localvore CSA shares.So what does Pete see for the future of Vermont’s food economy? “The sky is the limit. Technology is really making it possible,” he enthuses. He refers not only the use of alternative energies and advances in organic growing techniques that allow for his year-round production schedule, but also to the power of technology to connect farmers directly to consumers, and to each other. Through formal and informal networks, small Vermont farms are coming together to promote themselves and their high quality products. The Vermont Fresh Network (www.vermontfreshnetwork.org) allows consumers to find business and restaurants that produce and use Vermont products.
And now, the important question: How do the folks at Pete’s Greens like to eat their basil? “With Vermont mozzarella and tomatoes, on homemade bread, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and cracked pepper.” Mmmm. Simple, fresh, delicious. That’s how to eat like a local.
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