Berry Creek Farm

The Special
This week we are pleased to feature fresh organic strawberries and assorted seasonal vegetables from Berry Creek Farm of Westfield, Vermont. All this week, Chef Casey Graham will use certified organic Berry Creek produce in main dishes, appetizers, soups, salads and desserts. Be sure to ask your server about tonight’s Berry Creek Farm Special!

The Farm
Berry Creek Farm is a family owned and operated certified organic farm located in the town of Westfield in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. They are a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), providing weekly shares of vegetables, chicken, and Vermont specialty products to around 60 local members, and they have a farm stand in Westfield. Berry Creek Farm is dedicated to pursuing sustainable organic agricultural enterprises by linking local food to the community.

www.berrycreekfarmvt.com

Berry Creek Farm

To visitors and locals alike, I highly recommend taking a road tour of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. Cruise down Routes 5, 5A, 14, 16, 58, 105, 100 or 122 in your car, or better yet on your bike, and take in the wide open vistas and rolling hills. If you take Route 100 north from Lowell to Troy, slow down just before the village of Westfield when you see the big, peach colored house with attached barns. The sign outside proclaims “Berry Creek Farm, Organic Strawberries, Vegetables” and “Buy Local,” and I suggest you take its advice. Turn left into the driveway, park in front of the garage, and get out your shopping basket. You are about to visit one of the sweetest little farm stands in the Kingdom.



This is my plan on an overcast Thursday in June. I have been visiting several farms in Westfield today for the Northeast Kingdom Farm to Table Project. I am coming from Butterworks Farm, the oldest certified organic dairy farm in the country, and my next stop is Lazy Lady Goat Farm, makers of delicious natural goat cheeses and naturally raised pork. Shuttleworth Farm, which has been our featured farm at Juniper’s Restaurant for the past two weeks, is just up the road. Already I feel like I am in foodie heaven, and it is about to get better.

I am greeted at the farm stand by owners Gerard and Rosemary Croizet. The couple has been farming organically here since 1993 with help from their two sons and a few part-time assistants. Gerard and Rosemary met on the farm several years ago when it was owned by Rosemary’s parents. Gerard is originally from France and was visiting the Northeast Kingdom on a recommendation from a friend. He had no intention to settle here permanently until he met Rosemary. Gerard’s interest in farming came from his travels as a young man. He was drawn to organic farming because it was “much more interesting, more challenging, and more sustainable in the long term” than conventional farming. Rosemary grew up on the farm but never planned on staying. “Both my parents were quite surprised when I chose to do this,” Rosemary says. “I was teaching before I did this, elementary school and French.”

The Croizets may not have planned to own and operate a small organic family farm in northern Vermont, but they are certainly good at it. Berry Creek Farm is locally famous for its delicious strawberries and beautiful perennial and annual plants. The farm also produces a large variety of vegetables, many of them heirloom varieties, as well as chickens for the 60 members of their CSA. The Croizets are committed members of the local food economy, and their produce travels as only far as the farmer’s markets in Craftsbury and Newport, Vermont. The farm stand is filled with wonderful looking vegetables, locally produced specialty foods, and even homemade honey and beeswax candles.


Berry Creek is also notable for their commitment to education. The walls of the farm stand chronicle their work with NOFA, the Northern Organic Farming Association, whom they partner with to do workshops for local school children. A poster behind the cash register informs customers of the farm’s use of IPM, the Integrated Pest Management system that allows the Croizets to grow their strawberries and vegetables without the use of pesticides.

It is always fun to ask farmers how they like to use their products in their own meals. Mostly they tend to prepare things simply and allow the fresh flavor to shine through. The Croizet’s answer is no exception. Their favorite product is strawberries, straight from the garden. “In strawberry season we eat a quart a day,” says Gerard. On my way home after visiting Lazy Lady Goat Farm, I purchase a quart of strawberries at Berry Creek and eat them straight from the box. I have no fear that I am also consuming pesticides or other chemicals. The berries are perfectly complimented by one of Lazy Lady’s delicious bries spread on whole grain crackers. The sun is starting to peek out from behind the clouds, and I couldn’t be happier to be eating like a local.

Berry Creek Farm’s “WHY CSA?” Philosophy

Know where your food is grown! As a NOFA-VT farm we do not use any genetically engineered seeds, harmful pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides that damage your health and the environment.

Reduce packaging, distribution and transportation waste! Lessen your carbon footprint!

Broaden your food horizons by sampling some unusual varieties with recipes which we gladly share, and increase your dinning enjoyment.

Support a local family farm that, in turn, supports other local businesses and labor, while practicing healthy land stewardship and ensuring clean green space in Vermont.

Learn about how your food is grown by visiting the farm and build a healthy new link to your community.

Support the Jay Area Food Shelf and the Troy Area Senior Meal Site through the Vermont Farm Share Program - fresh, local, organic food for those who need it most! Ask us about this program.

“WHY ORGANIC?”

Protect Future Generations

Build Soil
Save Energy
Reduce Health Risks
Protect Farm Workers
Help Family Farms
Support a "True" Economy
Promote Bio-diversity
Great Taste

www.berrycreekfarmvt.com