A day of learning

I had an amazing day yesterday. I’m working on an article about grass-finished meat being raised here in Bucks County. The morning took me up to Springtown to interview Nevada Mease, who along with his father, Jeff, and mom, Cheyenne, raise grass-finished Black Angus cattle on their beautiful property, Meadow Brook Farm. Then it was over to Purely Farm in Pipersville to talk to Joanna and Marc Michini who have been raising organic, pastured pork, chicken, lamb and turkeys on their farm for eight years. And then, after stopping to pick up our share of veggies at our local CSA (community supported agriculture) farm, I showered, dressed and ran over to the County Theater to watch the fascinating and informative documentary, FRESH, which basically underlined everything I had heard and witnessed during the day at Meadow Brook Farm and Purely Farm. Wow.

So my head is kind of spinning but I need to give thanks to a bunch of people specifically for the screening event. We had a great turnout for the movie (sold out!), followed by comments from a panel of local folks involved in growing/producing/sourcing Bucks County food.

Thanks first to Chef Rich Baringer who organized the whole night, spurred by his passion and excitement after first seeing the film at the Ambler Theater in March, and who put his own money out to rent the theater. As you may have noticed, Rich guest blogs for us here at Bucks County Taste, while using local food to prepare meals for his personal chef clients. And if you’ve ever been interested in using the services of a personal chef, do check Rich out. He is very reasonable, a creative cook and loves to use local food. You can find out more at his website, Dinner’s Done.

Thanks to all the panelists too. All articulate and passionate, as well as informative. Henry Rosenberger and his wife, Charlotte, raise grass-finished beef on their farm, Tussock Sedge, in Blooming Glen. Their story is fascinating, having switched from conventional farming to all natural/organic, and grain feeding to grass finishing their stock. It’s a local example of what we watched in the movie. Thanks also to the Rosenbergers for fronting the money to rent the movie.

Tom Murtha, who along with his wife, Trish Borneman, grow beautiful and tasty organic vegetables at the Blooming Glen Farm CSA, was, as always, another articulate spokesperson for what is going on in our own backyard in Bucks, sharing both the joys and challenges of farming here. Thanks too to all the Blooming Glen CSA members who came to the screening.

Christy Devlin, while a newcomer to the scene, is passionate about her desire to bring organic and local to the specialty cake business. She and her colleagues make – create – beautiful decorated cakes and cupcakes that look good and are good for you too. Check their work out at Green Eggs and Cakes, and look for a post on them here in the near future.

Lastly, our thanks to J. Ryman Maxwell who owns The Down to Earth Cafe in Perkasie (you can get Green Eggs and Cakes’ cupcakes their too). His use of organic and local ingredients to make  fresh and flavorful dishes are a breath of fresh air to the breakfast and lunch scene in Bucks County. See Rich’s post on the Cafe and my post on local restaurants using local produce to learn more.

Thanks to the County Theater (Chris Collier and Steve) for the venue and all their help in setting up and promoting the event. And a special thanks to everyone who came. Because we “sold out” our costs were covered, we got a wonderful community event, and a lot of learning.

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