Growing the Local Food Movement in Greater Richmond
Welcome to Real Local RVA’s blog! Here you will find entries from the Executive Director, Leadership Board and guest bloggers. This blog will focus on farms, farmer’s markets, restaurants, groceries, food vendors and producers. We will work to keep you informed on all the local food events and news in our community.
If you have any questions, comments or possible topics please email us . We would love to hear from you!
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. This four-season farm grows a curated mix of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Woodside Farms works in conjunction with nature, utilizing farming methods such as cover cropping, integrated pest management, inter-planting, and composting. By mimicking the natural state from which crops originated, they are able to grow without the use of pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides. Farmed by Bryan Aycock, his wife Meredith, and Kara Siewers this beautiful property was enjoyed by all. Bryan led the first part of the tour, taking guests through the new barn, around the orchard, and past the historic home situated on the property. In just its first year of existence the farm has made amazing leaps and bounds towards being able to feed the growing community surrounding it. Bryan shared their plans for a CSA, community workshares, and future events to be held on site.
The Rappahannock Oyster Co. StorySponsored by Woodside Farms
We were excited to bring you the Rappahannock Oyster Co. story and as expected it did not disappoint! Cousins Travis and Ryan Croxton were novice oyster farmers when they started the business back in 2001. 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. They now own 6 restaurants and one of the most well respected oyster distribution companies in the U.S.
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.
“Building a Successful Workplace”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.
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.” For those of you who missed it, we welcomed 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. [Read more…] about Real Local RVA’s June 2019 Meeting
Sponsored by C&F Bank
Our meeting this month 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.
