Smith Meadows Cow in Winter
We were mentioned in the Washington Post this week in an article called “In Winter, farmers markets turn into value (added) villages.” by Tim Carman. The article touches on some very important issues for farmers who do markets year round. Growers and producers constrained by a mid-Atlantic growing season face a lot of challenges in a winter market. Carrying product to sustain a market through the winter was not impossible for a free-range meat farm like ours. We can produce a quality product year round, although planning for extreme weather of any kind does require extra effort. Smith Meadows began as a way of taking an old-fashioned family farm into the 21st century that would not only survive, but thrive. Part of that plan was Smith Meadows Kitchen.
A family farm must support a family, and that requires ingenuity to maintain through extreme weather of any kind: economic or meteorological. The kitchen allowed me to raise my son while operating a business from home that would add to the over-all vitality of our farm. In attending farmers markets for four years before starting my kitchen in 2003, I developed many close relationships with produce growers at market: Water Penny Farm, Red Rake Farm, Sunnyside Farm, Keswick Creamery and Toigo Orchards (to name a few). When it came time for me to leave a career in teaching to have a family and promote the goals of Smith Meadows, making pastas and pestos from my friends’ ingredients with our eggs made a lot of sense.
Maribel Yamat sells our eggs at Falls Church Farmers Market
Today those relationships continue to grow and blossom as we cross-market and promote each others’ value-added products. Our goal is to run a profitable business year-round and provide customers with delicious food. I am a busy mother and business owner. I know the value of a home cooked meal made from ingredients that I can trust. This is what Smith Meadows Kitchen aims to provide to all of our customers. I can tell from the popularity of our chicken and turkey pot-pies that customers are happy to continue their relationship with us. We work to support sustainable agriculture and eating locally within a very supportive community of patrons and associates.
Check out this article by Kathleen Nixon Falls Church Times. She explains so well the value of prepared foods from Farmers for a busy household:
http://fallschurchtimes.com/26413/winter-markets-bounty-prepared-foods/
Hi Lauren,
We have gotten an incredible amount of spam in our comment area. I just came across your email. We use locally grown potatoes, onions, carrots and milk in the pot pies. Unfortunately we are not able to use local celery and peas. I appreciate your support.
Thank you,
Nancy