A Year in Review: Real Local RVA’s 2019

Happy New Year RVA!  The work we get to do in Richmond is pretty great, and we’re feeling thankful for our supportive local food community.  Our programming works on a calendar year cycle (meetings from February to November with other events sprinkled in), and because of this we enjoy a little time each holiday season to reflect on the past year’s work.  Each year we grow a little more, and strengthen our place in the community. We thought you might enjoy a quick roundup from 2019.

Real Local RVA’s February 2019 Meeting

“Farm to Table Panel Discussion”

moderated by Robey Martin

Our 2019 meeting series was off to a great start!  February’s meeting was full of new faces, local food buzz, and lots of networking.  Our panelists provided great insight into the workings of each of their respective restaurants and farms, discussed local sourcing in Richmond, and all agreed that communication is the key to the success of local food making its way onto the plates of consumers.  Moderated by Robey Martin with CBS6, our panelists included:

• Susan Davenport with Tazza Kitchen
• David Crabtree-Logan with The Broken Tulip
• Joe Jenkins with Bow Tide Farms
• Mike Ledesma with Perch
• Chris Stem with Harlow Ridge Farm

Real Local RVA’s March 2019 Meeting

“Community Building”

with Chris Bennett from the Spark Mill

Sponsored by C&F Bank

Our March meeting was an experiment.  With the help of our friend Chris Bennett at the Spark Mill, we planned a whole meeting focused around communication, listening and growing a network.  The conversations were flowing, the communication channels were open and the room was buzzing. We think it was a successful experiment and our only regret is that we didn’t have more time!  We believe the key to growing the local food movement in Richmond is building connections within our community and we were glad to facilitate this event.  We’re planning another one for 2020!

Real Local RVA’s April 2019 Meeting

“Local Foods, Climate Change and the Green New Deal”

with local foods expert Anthony Flaccavento

Sponsored by C&F Bank

Our speaker, Anthony Flaccavento was a wealth of knowledge on this topic after years of working in the field, both literally and figuratively.  He has operated a small commercial organic farm for 25 years, helped launch a farmers market, a local food hub, runs a consulting business that takes him around the world working with communities to build more diverse, healthy economies and local food systems, and ran for Congress in 2018.  Anthony provided a detailed overview of the current economic and ecologic state of affairs and explained why important steps must be taken in the very near future to remedy all the problems we are facing.

Real Local RVA’s May 2019 Meeting

“Mitigating the Crazy”

with farming consultant Ellen Polishuk

Sponsored by C&F Bank

Our May meeting was a great one on so many fronts.  Ellen Polishuk from Plant to Profit took us through a current state of affairs in the farming world, provided practical advice for our farmers in the crowd, and spoke on a level that our non-farmers in the audience could relate to.  As an organization supporting the needs of very different sectors of the local food movement, we strongly believe in the value of learning the struggles and realities each business faces so we can support them as much as possible.  At the heart of the local food movement are the farmers, and supporting them is one of the most valuable ways to grow a local food system.

Real Local RVA’s June 2019 Meeting

“Women in Food Panel”

Sponsored by Riddle Design Co.

For the second year in a row we hosted a Women in Food Panel moderated by Robey Martin, a food, spirits and culture writer for CBS 6 and host of the podcast “Eat It Virginia.” Our panelists included Shola Walker, Owner of Mahogany Sweets, Sally Schwitters, President and CEO of Tricycle Urban Ag, Kate Lee, VP of Operations and Quality at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, and Kelli Lemon, a Social Entrepreneur, Radio Personality and Owner of Urban Hang Suite.   The women discussed the ups and downs of working in local food/drink, what it’s like to be a woman in Richmond’s food and beverage scene, and how they take time for themselves on a daily basis to take a break from their busy schedules.  We partnered with Rebelle Con to extend our celebration of women in food with a second panel event on Thursday evening, June 6th at ZZQ, completing a full week of women in food and beverage.

Upon arrival guests enjoyed drink samples from Mother Shrub, health conscious bars from Gratisfied and coffee from the Cafe at St. Stephen’s.  The room was a buzz with many attendees from the Richmond food and beverage scene.  This is always one of our favorite meetings of the year!

Real Local RVA’s July 2019 Meeting

“Building a Successful Workplace”

with Steve Rosser of Gelati Celesti

Sponsored by Riddle Design Co.

We ate ice cream before lunch.  Yes it was delicious, and no we don’t regret it!  We were honored to have Steve Rosser from Gelati Celesti share his wisdom with us at our July meeting.  Steve purchased the single store company in 2010 and since that time has expanded the company from an employee base of 9 to over 120 full and part time employees. Gelati Celesti currently has 6 retail stores; 5 in Richmond and a recently opened store in Virginia Beach. Each store sells anywhere from about 500 to 800 servings of ice cream a day in the summer!  Wow! Additionally, the company operates a food truck often seen at local festivals and events and sells to many of Richmond’s best restaurants.

Real Local RVA’s August 2019 Meeting

“Eat It, Virginia! LIVE Podcast Recording”

with George Dearing of Virginia Foodie

Sponsored by Riddle Design Co.

We have our first LIVE podcast recording under our belt, and it was a good one!  For our August meeting we hosted the CBS6 podcast, Eat It, Virginia! as they recorded a special bonus episode with George Dearing, founder of the popular media brand Virginia Foodie.  Hosted by Robey Martin and Scott Wise, Eat It, Virginia keeps its listeners up to date on hot spots in dining, local chefs, and business that support local food.  It was a great meeting with important tips about building your brand and the importance of staying true to your brand identity. You can listen to the full podcast live HERE.

Real Local RVA’s September 2019 Meeting

“The Rappahannock Oyster Co. Story”

with Karri Peifer of the Richmond Times Dispatch

Sponsored by Woodside Farms

We were excited to bring you the Rappahannock Oyster Co. story and as expected it did not disappoint!  Karrie Peifer of the Richmond Times Dispatch interviewed owners and cousins Travis and Ryan Croxton.  Travis and Ryan talked about their wild ride, opening restaurants with very little experience, and the importance of having a good crew around you.  They felt called to save their rich family history, and through lots of determination, research, and hard work the two cousins literally built a thriving oyster business from the ground up.  We are lucky to have these two call Richmond home, and are thankful for the time they spent with us. They now own 6 restaurants and one of the most well respected oyster distribution companies in the U.S.  To read more about the history of the oyster click here.

4th Annual Farm Tour & Party

Saturday, September 28th

Woodside Farms and Harlow Ridge Farm

With a Special Appearance by Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms

On Saturday, September 28th Real Local RVA hosted its 4th annual Farm Tour.  This is one of our most celebrated yearly events, and we truly enjoy the opportunity to bring people together for a day celebrating local food and farming.

It was a warm fall day in Ashland, VA where we began the tour at Woodside Farms at Chickahominy Falls.  Woodside Farms is a 10-acre farm anchoring the Chickahominy Falls community.  After enjoying a tour of the property, we enjoyed a delicious snack prepared by Chef Jenny Tremblay West of Mise en Place Cooking School.

After a short drive up the road, guests arrived at Harlow Ridge Farm for a tour of a working livestock farm by Farmer Chris Stem.  Harlow Ridge Farm specializes in pasture raised pork, beef, goat and lamb raised on NON-GMO grains produced in Hanover County.

Once the tour was finished, the guests were welcomed into Oakdale, the brand new event facility on the property owned by Chris and his family.  Nestled in 100 acres of farmland, this premier event facility is a unique barn venue with a modern, upscale feel. Surrounded by an intimate, natural setting, with panoramic views of farmland, ponds and pastures, Oakdale is an ideal venue for gatherings of all kinds.  We were honored to be the first event in the new space! After dinner, the guests enjoyed a presentation by Joel Salatin, well known farmer at Polyface Farm and champion of the sustainable agriculture movement.  Joel covered the topic of “Can Biological Farming Feed the World?”  It was a great day celebrating community, food and farming, and if you missed last year’s event, we hope you’ll join us next time.

“Help to the Shelf”

In partnership with the Apple Cart Co. and Hatch Kitchen

October 2019

Sponsored by VDACS and Virginia Foodshed Capital

Whew, the fall was a busy time for us!  Right on the heels of the farm tour we co-hosted our first pitch competition.  We partnered with the Apple Cart Co. and Hatch Kitchen to hold the first “Help to the Shelf” competition to assist small local food producers in launching their products.  Judged by Eileen Mellon of Richmond Magazine, Hunter Hopcroft of VA Foodshed Capital and Maya Vincelli of the University of Richmond our judges had a tough job of narrowing our 15 finalists down to 2 winners.  The event was a huge success and received wonderful community support. Our two winners, Favour Cookie Co. and Chaotic Good Tempeh, won prize packages filled with resources to help their businesses grow and we’ve enjoyed watching their success over the last few months!  The first event was held at our October meeting, with the finals taking place in an evening event at Hatch Kitchen. Read more about the competition here: https://reallocalrva.com/help-to-the-shelf/

Real Local RVA’s November 2019 Meeting

“The Autumn Olive Farms Story”

Sponsored by Woodside Farms

We closed out 2019 with a presentation from Clay Trainum, owner of Autumn Olive Farms.  Autumn Olive Farms is an award winning small livestock farm owned by Clay and Linda Trainum located just north of Waynesboro in the central Shenandoah Valley.  Clay shared his family’s story of moving his family back to his childhood farm in Virginia after discovering they were sick from toxic mold exposure in their home in North Carolina.  Clay shared the ups and downs they faced as they worked to heal their bodies and build a thriving farrow to finish farming operation that continues to grow every year. He discussed the amazing work they are doing to heal the land and restore the soil.  He talked about how they cross-bred their pigs to develop a heritage breed pork sought out by the best chefs and butcher shops all over the region. This was such an inspiring story, and this family is a true treasure to the local food scene. AOF also graciously donated pork which was prepared by Cardinal State Butchers for guests to sample!  It was a delicious way to close out the 2019 meeting season for sure!

Thanks to all who joined us for our programming, thanks to all the local businesses who sponsored our events, thanks to St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church for hosting us all year, and most of all, thanks to our members for making our work possible!  We look forward to a great 2020!