'We are here to redefine what the family farm means, what the for-profit farming model looks like, and redefine what a human centered approach to farming can really be.'
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Queer Farmers Are Changing the Landscape
Queer beekeepers, urban agriculturalists, and rural livestock workers are challenging not only conventional farming and food production practices, but also the image of farming itself Get to know the businesses rethinking queer hospitality and community for a new generation.
When Lee Hennessy talks about farming, he talks about choosing happiness. For years he had been living in LA, working in media and Hollywood and advertising and hating it. He figured joy would come once he became successful enough. But one day, he just couldn’t anymore: “I was miserable. So, eventually, I was like, ‘What if I focused on happiness first, and then worried about success afterward?’” He’d always loved animals and the idea of farming. So he put all his money into learning about agriculture, worked on some farms, and then started his own: Moxie Ridge Farm in Washington County, New York.
From farm to food pantry: Hudson Valley farmers increase efforts to fight hunger
From farm to food pantry: Hudson Valley farmers increase efforts to fight hunger
Rock Steady Farm co-owner D. Rooney: We get to fully farm into our values and that feels amazing
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The Nourish New York program and local farming partners made it possible for Dutchess Outreach to increase the amount of local produce in their prepared hot meals and distribute more than 24,000 lbs. of locally farmed foods to food insecure residents of Dutchess County last year.Sarah Salem
The farm-to-table trend among restaurants that source locally grown food in the Hudson Valley is well established by now. But the movement to distribute farm-grown food directly to food pantries and those in need is gaining ground, sparked by record food insecurity during the pandemic.
Related As friends, farmers, and lifelong advocates for food justice, Maggie Cheney and D. Rooney started Rock Steady Farm and Flowers in 2015 with no land and $500 dollars each. They also received loans through a co-op, and the funds were just enough to allow them to sign a lease for land in rural Millerton, New York.
The two set out to start a farm to reflect the queer community they had been part of and feed it through a community supported agriculture (CSA) program with seven pickup locations throughout New York City.
Maggie Cheney (left) and D Rooney at Rock Steady Farm.
These Hudson Valley CSAs haven t sold out.yet
These Hudson Valley CSAs haven t sold out.yet
Local farm shares have turned into a hot commodity in the pandemic. Snatch one of these memberships while you can.
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As food supply chains were disrupted last March at the onset of the pandemic, sending grocery shoppers scrambling for fresh food, many in the Hudson Valley turned to neighboring farms to lock in a guaranteed source of fresh produce. One sign of this surge came from sales of community supported agriculture [CSA] shares, the membership program that allows farms to pre-sell their produce at the start of the season to cover their costs. In 2020, an unprecedented number of farms either sold out of their CSA shares early or for the first time ever.