From just-picked produce to fresh eggs to free-range meats and locally produced wines, Rappahannock has it all.
"You can literally source a dinner party by driving around Rappahannock and going around to various farms," said Alan Zuschlag, who raises all-natural lamb at Touchstone Farm in Amissville.
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Convenience and loyalty may be some of the reasons rural residents
visit local farmstands, but customers from farther afield are also
taking more of an interest in locally grown food.
With scares about E. coli in spinach, botulism in chili and numerous
reports of contamination associated with food imports from China, more
consumers are turning to local farmers for food they can trust.
Those concerns have been paired with a growing resolve to conserve
fossil fuels, which are needed to transport goods between far-flung
locations.
"For the longest time it was organic" that food connoisseurs were
concerned with, Zuschlag said.
But the organic label lost some of its cache as large grocery-store
chains like Safeway and Wal-Mart started their own lines of organic
products. What had traditionally been associated with small-scale, local
farmers became mainstream and multinational.
"So the next best thing became buying locally," Zuschlag said. "The
emphasis on buy local is coming at a great time because Rappahannock is
poised to take advantage of that."
Local difference
There are plenty of reasons to get food from local producers.
Buying from nearby farms is better for the environment, keeps dollars
circulating in the local community and helps maintain the profitability
of agricultural land.
In the United States, food travels an average of 1,500 miles from the
farm to the grocery store, according to the Center for Urban Education
about Sustainable Agriculture in San Francisco.
Trucks, trains, airplanes and ships burn fossil fuel, which causes air
and water pollution, while traveling thousands of miles to transport
types of food that may be growing down the road in Rappahannock.
For example, the average apple in a grocery store has traveled 1,726
miles from where it was picked. With an orchard around every corner in
Rappahannock, there's no need to buy anything other than local apples.
The power needed to refrigerate produce during those long journeys also
takes energy and causes pollution. And transported food usually is
accompanied by more packaging, which ultimately ends up in a landfill.
Eating locally grown food is also a way to ensure that food dollars
remain in the community.
For every dollar spent at a local business, 68 cents recirculates
through the community, according to the nonprofit organization Local
First. However, only 43 cents of every dollar spent at a chain or other
non-local store stays in the community.
Working farms are a key to Rappahannock's scenic beauty, which attracts
tourists and holds property values high. Keeping those farms profitable
is a key to ensuring that agricultural land is not developed into
housing.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the nation has lost
more than 5 million farms since 1935. Many small farms' survival depends
on direct sales to regional consumers.
Don't forget taste
Last but not least, locally raised food is often tastier and more
nutritious than store-bought food. Fresh produce has more nutrients and
disease-battling antioxidants than food that was picked several weeks
ago.
In a grocery store, "it might be three or four weeks since [fruit] has
been off the tree," said Jesse Jenkins at Jenkins Orchard in Woodville.
"It doesn't have any flavor."
Jenkins Orchard has been a Rappahannock staple since 1954. The farm
grows peaches, nectarines, pears, blackberries, tomatoes and 20
varieties of apples.
Jenkins focuses on direct sales, rather than distributing to stores.
"Most people, when they taste our stuff, they don't want other people's
stuff," Jenkins said. "Our business picks up every year."
Gene Adams Jr., manager of the family-owned Adams Custom Slaughter in
Amissville, has also seen an increase in the number of people wanting
locally raised and butchered meat.
"I've gotten a lot more people over the years," he said. "A lot of
people don't want to buy from the stores."
Adams oversees his entire process from start to finish to ensure the
quality of his products. He also has a state inspector on site.
"I do everything here from the start: I raise it, I kill it and I cut
it," Adams said.
Anyone hungry for locally raised hamburger, steaks, sausage and bacon
can buy directly from Adams or pick up some sausage at Mayhugh's Store
in Amissville.
City connections
Other Rappahannock stores that carry local food include the Sperryville
Corner Store, the Epicurious Cow and Roy's Orchard and Fruit Market.
"Everybody wants to know where the food is being grown," said Roy Alther,
who sells produce grown in his Sperryville orchard as well as food
raised on other nearby farms. "People are becoming more aware of trying
to buy more local than they were before."
Alther said about half his customers are locals and the other half are
tourists, mostly from the Washington, D.C., area.
With only 7,000 residents in Rappahannock, local farms have to market
their products to customers outside the county. The affluent population
in the D.C. area is an important demographic.
"We are uniquely poised to capture the market of people who are
concerned about," buying local, Zuschlag said.
Other counties in the region are not in a position to take advantage of
the buy-local trend, he explained. Like most U.S. agricultural
operations, farms in other counties have specialized in a single crop
like soybeans or corn. Rappahannock is creating more unique products
that also fetch higher prices.
"I think it is a great thing for our farmers," Zuschlag said.
"Rappahannock is already a foodie destination. It's known for its
restaurants and boutique farms."
Zuschlag said customers in the D.C. area also seem to enjoy having a
connection with the people who produce their food.
He maintains that link with customers by sending them an annual
newsletter that includes recipes for the different cuts of lamb that he
sells. With no middlemen, it's easy for him to communicate directly with
the people who buy his lamb.
"People don't get that connection when they go to the grocery store," he
said.
E-mail the reporter at kallen@timespapers.com
