Blog

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For so many, plans have been put on hold until a more appropriate time, and for now, we continue waiting out the storm. We have observed an array of responses to the situation at hand, from the early hoarding of supplies to some throwing caution to the wind.

Yet, one of the most poignant is the adaptation and resilience of farmers. All over the country, farmers are reworking their entire business model while also maintaining their usual pace of spring- prepping, seeding, planting, weeding, and around again. While markets slowly come online, farmers are coordinating drop off and pick up systems to get food to their customers.

Food, in general, has become a hot button topic. Seed companies nationwide are facing shortages as homeowners turned home gardeners are starting their own plots in the backyard. While, for some, growing their own food may be fueled by fear, others are realizing the inconspicuous and inedible values of gardening.

The calming and rejuvenating effects of being outside, the endorphin-releasing response to physical exertion, and the immune-boosting consequence of interacting with healthy soil all lead to the general enjoyment of the process. The average home gardener may not be aware of the exact science, but all the evidence they need is how good they feel after having their hands in the soil.

— Farmer E.S.

The crackling lighting’s rolling thunder had us counting Mississippi this Sunday evening.

For those awake then or awakened, the energy in the storm gripped us, not fearfully, though emboldening us, not timidly, but encouraging us to hold strong, to push through with force.

It had been a while since this farmer recalled a thunderstorm as intense, and perhaps in replicating the intensity of the moment we are embracing together at a distance, the spring storm relayed a message from on long ago.

Do you not wonder and recall how those first storms affected human beings, how we must have huddled and sought shelter, relying on each other for comfort?

If ever it were a time to huddle together it is now. We take care of ourselves in our isolation, careful and cautious, so that we may gather once again en masse.

By now we have consolidated, and we breathe in and out together, deeply aware of all that is taking place around us. We are there for each other. A phone call, a letter, a video conference – we connect and care for each other- weathering the storm.

Free Ticket to Event

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Being held in the Gardiner Dining Hall at St. Andrew’s School in Barrington, RI – Local Food-Print’s line up of talented and dedicated folks from within the local food industry will share, hope, and dream about how they plan to continue to enrich the local food movement, especially as concerns sourcing and providing locally grown, densely nutritious foods for the local community.

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The line up includes local chefs and business owners such as Prica Farina, Barrington Butchery, and speakers from Rhode Island Food Policy, and McCoy Community Farm.

Here is the full line up for the day:

Intro by Dan Penengo, Board of Directors at Barrington Farm School

Presentation, Rob DeLuise, Flik Independent School Dining and Chef at St. Andrew’s School

Speaker, Matt McClelland, Backyard Food Company

Speaker, Nessa Richman, Rhode Island Food Policy Council

Speaker/Presenter, Spencer Morris, Sowams Cider Works Company

Speaker/Presenter, Priscila Moritz and David Strenio, Prica Farina Fresh Pasta Co.

Speaker, Jane Donnelly and Team, McCoy Community Farm

Speaker/Presenter, Larry Russolino, Barrington Butchery

Speaker/Presenter, Mike Seward and Chris Darling, East Bay Homebrew Club

When we say it takes a village we are mindful and aware of perhaps the greatest asset to that village being its youth. Being a farm school our education model proposes to reach every age and ability. To that end, we welcome people from anywhere and any background to our farm to enjoy what we enjoy most, farming.

As it always seems to turn out, however, it is the excitement, joy, and creativity of the youth which sparks our motivation to reach further and tap more deeply into these roots of society. Also we do know there are always extremely passionate and resolute adults taking charge of these fledgling farmers behind the scenes. With their care and influence, youngsters will flock to the farm and be enriched on so many levels.

Farming is more than a simple pleasure. It is a rich and bountiful exercise. It is a life skill encompassing infinite skills and limitless possibility for growth.

The farm awaits. Come experience it for your self.

Organically grown is a label which goes beyond food. At our farm like that of so many others organically grown has all to do with the relationships that come together simply from an idea of one person being taken on by another.

When we posted our Trails and Trail Mix idea in our recent newsletters, one of our awesome farm friends said, “we’ll be there!” Sure enough, with a seven family crew and a few tag along friends, trailblazing and winter bliss was had by all.

While some of us focus on seeds or event planning, our farm crew’s diversity includes career campers and trekkers. For these folks the trailheads and pathways being set into the woody acre will be a sure way to escape the scold of the summer heat. Nothing says clear your head like a meandering down a mossy and clover laden sanctuary.

Most impressive in the day was the vigor in the children taking charge in clearing new trails. They sure earned their trail mix and hot cocoa afterward.

The farm made new friends today and friends made the farm triumphant. Here’s to another great day at the farm school.

As we gear up for the 2020 growing season, we are also making our invitations to the community to join in on the fun. There are few things we enjoy more than seeing visitors participating with us in growing healthy and nutritious vegetables and fruits.

We look for schools, corporate, or non-profit groups to join us in the fields during the summer months to bond and to learn the ins and outs of our farming practices, while sampling delicious veggies and farm honey along the way.

Have ideas for an event or gathering? Reach out to us and we will make it an experience to remember. Email us or call Farmer Dan at 401-834-5828 to set up a day in the fields for this summer.

A three-hour farm outing typically includes a farm tour, bee and honey presentation, fieldwork and harvesting, plus snacks and drinks to enjoy.

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Evolution at the Farm “With a successful growing season behind us, we look forward to continuing our commitment to the local food economy, most notably through outreach and education. We want the community to come to the farm not only to purchase at the farm stand but to engage with the land and take that knowledge back home with them. We want to inspire a movement of composting, homegrown food, and self- sufficiency and are here to provide guidance and support through the process.” Thank you to all the people who visited, volunteered, and bought from the stand in 2019 – you help make what we do possible!! – Farmer Dan’s Journal January 2020

VOLUNTEER!

The 2020 growing season is fast approaching! Would you believe our Onions will be seeded at the end of this month! Join us by clicking the volunteer button above with subject line: BFS Grows 2020

Winter Events and Volunteer Opportunities Climate Change and Resiliency Cabin Fever Series, Sunday, January 26, 2020⋅2:30 – 5:00 pm, Registration Trails and Trail Mix – join us for some trailblazing in the woody acre and create some yummy trail mix for the adventure. Inquire w/subject line: Trail Magic – youth groups/families are welcomed! Berry Love, How to- Pruning Berry Bushes, February 14, 3 pm – we’ll enjoy some Valentine’s treats and drinks as well

The 2019 Year in Review In 2019 we: began transforming the 1.5 acres of tillable land into uniform growing areas using market gardening, bio-intensive regenerative practices planted fruit trees and berry bushes, donated from friends and local businesses painted and beautified the summer kitchen and farmstand with the help of dedicated volunteers sowed and harvested loads of produce, flowers, and honey for sale at the farm stand expanded our food scrap collection, keeping thousands of pounds of reusable energy from entering the landfill, while creating delicious rich humus for our plants using vermiculture hosted hundreds of volunteers- they came to us as corporate outings, school groups, church groups, and families and individuals offered educational events relating to food health and sovereignty, farming from soil and seeding to transplanting and harvesting, composting and food scrap collection and vermiculture, planting and growing flowers, preparing garden beds and using slow tools hosted community gatherings in the spring, fall, and summer while also offering organic seedlings to the community via our first plant sale met hundreds of you at the farm stand and shared stories of our love for food, plants, the environment, and cooking loved every minute! are ecstatic for growing in 2020! Join us.

While the farm stand is seeing less activity as our production winds down, the farm itself is quite busy. We’ve sown all the fields in cover crop, have been planning for the location of the NRCS high tunnel, and are working on a variety of other projects, including the planting of daffodils and tulips, and garlic!

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Our board President, Tim Faulkner, put together some numbers of the goings-on at the farm. Take a look:

Compost. The October food school food-scrap collection totals are in. Hampden Meadows School 374 pounds, Sowams School 209 pounds, Nayatt School 190 pounds, Primrose Hill School 155 pounds, Barrington Middle School 81 pounds and Barrington High School 0. St. Andrew’s School collected 370 pounds. Public drop-off (east of the farm stand off Federal Rd) at the farm netted 1,323 pounds.

The BFS Food Scrap Program is run with the Barrington School District Green Team. Food scrap collection occurs during lunch at all four Barrington elementary schools. The Middle School and High School collect food scrap from their kitchens.

Garlic. Volunteers planted nearly 2,000 garlic bulbs on Nov. 2 and Nov. 3. The garlic was fertilized with seaweed courtesy of Point Judith Kelp Co., shredded leaves, and our own compost. The garlic, our own variety, will be harvested in July and offered at the farm stand.

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Board help needed. The Barrington Farm School is looking for new board members. In particular, we are in need of a treasurer and a grant writer. If you are interested in either position or would like to join our board as a regular member, please reach out to Tim Faulkner atBarringtonFarmSchool@gmail.com or 401-330-6276.

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What better way to follow el Dia de Los Muertos than with planting seeds. While October 31 still draws the most attention, it marks the eve of the day when we celebrate our ancestors.

When we think about the richness of tradition and the vast metaphors within oral and written histories with respect to life and death and its relationship to the soil, we recognize the intricate relationship we have with the earth. For us, this takes center stage with our composting—collecting local food scraps from areas schools and at our farmstand drop off toters, which are filled to the brim regularly by enthusiastic neighbors.

In honoring the earth, and our carbon-based chemistry, we have planned two wonderful opportunities for the community to join us in farming the land here at Vendituoli Farm.

Monarchs and Milkweed is Saturday, November 2nd, from 10 am – 11:30 am, hosted by our neighbor Cynthia O. and her keen knowledge and stewardship of native plants, pollinators, and milkweed—we will tour her native garden and learn how to collect seed and incubate seed into cold stratification through the winter.

Planting Garlic takes place Saturday, November 2nd, from 11:30 am – 3 pm. We will be planting 2500 garlic seeds in the “Little Uruguay” garden bed. We’ve been conditioning the soil with our very own compost, plus we will be mulching over the garlic with Kelp mulch, courtesy of Point Judith Kelp Company. This process is amazing, and so rewarding come July as the various heirloom varieties make their way out of the ground to cure.

Another great way to show support for the farm is with our “Adopt” a farm row campaign. We’ve secured 9 out of 27 rows thus farm, and your donation helps to ensure the best organic compost courtesy of Earthcare Farm, and the best organic seed from the most respected open seed companies in New England.

Autumn carries with it its own sense of rejuvenation, with its many insect creatures preparing for their hibernation, its fallen leaves a haven, as the sun prepares for its final descent until blessing us in winter.

However our paths meet from now until spring, the farm echoes, even when silent. For there are infinite projects in the works. We’re grateful for being here.

Saturday, October 26, 12 – 4 PM