Our Local Food Story
The local food movement has been spreading across the country in recent years, helping to connect people to their food and their local farmers. More and more people are realizing that having a connection to where their food comes from means investing in more than just a food purchase. It’s an investment in individual health as well as in the future health of our planet. It’s also an important investment in our local communities. The Wild Center has been striving to promote that connection since we began. By using local farmers and businesses to provide food for students during our annual Adirondack Youth Climate Summit, as well as hosting our summer Farmers Market, we are bridging the gap between the farmers who grow our food and our local residents.
Keeping It Local
One of the principal ways The Wild Center helps to support our local farmers is through our weekly seasonal Farmers’ Market. Fortunately, most of our farmers live right here in the Adirondacks and are between 5 and 85 minutes away. By purchasing produce and crafts locally, The Wild Center is working to support the livelihood and health of the local farming community.
Health Food. Healthy Farms. Everybody Eats.
GardenShare is a locally led non-profit organization seeking to end hunger and strengthen food security in northern New York State. GardenShare’s mission is to solve hunger in St. Lawrence County through policy advocacy work and by strengthening the food system to benefit all county residents.
For more resources, events and workshops check out this page.
The Adirondack Farmers' Market Cooperative
The Adirondack Farmers’ Market Cooperative (AFMC) is an Agricultural Cooperative that consists of eight farmers’ markets in the Adirondack Region. The farmers and crafters represented by AFMC are from small, family-operated farms or small home-based artisans producing hand-crafted items. Learn more about some of AFMC’s vendors and participating farmers’ markets here.
Adirondack Harvest
Adirondack Harvest provides resources to connect locals to farm-fresh foods and local products. Check out resources, farmers’ market maps, current events and projects here.
The Dirty Life - A Barncast by The Wild Center
The owners of Essex Farm provide a glimpse into their lives and how they came to their unique calling. During The Wild Center’s first-ever remote barncast, Kristin read excerpts from her book, “The Dirty Life.” This webcast originally aired 9/15/11 directly from their barn in Essex, New York.
What is CSA?
CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, is a great way to stay involved in your community and support local farmers. Different CSAs provide different fruits, veggies and meats, but by “subscribing” to these CSA’s you are able to take home fresh, local and delicious food on a weekly or bi-weekly basis! Check out Local Harvest’s website to find a CSA in your area, and support locally-grown foods.
Farm to School New York
Farm-to-School programs link schools with local farms. While programs vary from one to the other, they often include: school meals featuring local food, food and agriculture education in the classroom, school gardens, field trips to farms, and celebrations. Students learn about their local agriculture system and have better access to delicious local foods, while farmers expand markets for their products and local economies grow stronger.
Check out the link below for Cornell’s Farm to School outreach programs and resources.