"It all starts with the choice of grain,
which is first a question of place and time."
-- Karen Hess, A Century of Change in the American Loaf
The Greenmarket Regional Grains Project is pioneering the new frontier in local food: grains. With our partners, we're building the marketplace for grains grown and milled in the Northeast. We are educating and connecting growers, processors, bakers and chefs -- sparking a rise in demand for local grains while helping ensure the crop supply and processing infrastructure
are there to meet that demand. The evidence is clear: Regional grains have arrived.
The Greenmarket Regional Grains Project and the Grainstand are programs of GrowNYC, the sustainability resource for New Yorkers: providing free tools and services anyone can use in order to improve our City and environment. More gardens, Greenmarkets, more recycling, and education for all. Learn more at www.grownyc.org.
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Our rotating Grainstand is BACK in September, and it's BETTER THAN EVER with new pop-ups at Dag Hammarskold Plaza, Cortelyou, and Bay Ridge!
#drinklocal
: Beer & Spirits of New York
pop-ups continue at all of our Grainstand locations. Stay current with pop-up news at
grownyc.org/drinklocal,
and explore what New York State craft beverage producers have to offer at the following locations:
Grainstand and Beer & Spirits Pop-up Locations:
Saturday, August 25th
Union Square
Breuckelen Distilling
Wednesday, August 29th
Union Square
Springbrook Hollow
Saturday, September 1st
Union Square
Black Dirt Distilling
Wednesday, September 5th
Union Square
Hillrock Farm Distillery
Saturday, September 8th
Union Square
Hillrock Farm Distillery
Saturday, September 8th
Grand Army Plaza
Black Dirt Distilling
Wednesday, September 12th
Union Square
Moto Spirits
Saturday, September 15th
Union Square
Springbrook Hollow
Sunday, September 16th
Jackson Heights
Springbrook Hollow
Wednesday, September 19th
Union Square
Hillrock Farm Distillery
Saturday, September 22nd
Union Square
Finger Lakes Distilling
Saturday, Spetember 22nd
Fort Greene
Moto Spirits
Wholesale orders of $250 or more can be delivered through
Greenmarket Co.
, GrowNYC's wholesale distribution program.
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News and Events: 2018 FARM TRIP
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This July, the
Greenmarket Grains
team set out on the open road to explore the innovative ways farmers, brewers, and bakers are incorporating the burgeoning bounty of northeastern grains into their breads, beers, and fields. For this trip, we focused on the Hudson Valley, diving deep into the grains scene of Columbia and Greene counties.
Our first stop was at
Migliorelli Farm,
which was
one of the last farms to operate in New York City. As a child, Ken Migliorelli first learned farming in the Bronx, where Co-op city now stands. In the late 1950's, his father moved the family to Tivoli, NY in Columbia County where Ken still manages the original farm (plus an additional 900 acres). Migliorelli farm stands dot the mid-Hudson Valley, and Ken sells his acclaimed fruits and vegetables at 12 GrowNYC Greenmarkets. As he walked us through his barley and rye fields, Ken explained how he originally tried growing grain when Greenmarket first required bakers to use 15% local grain, but he struggled with
fusarium head blight
. Over the years, he has found a stable market for barley and rye with distillers and brewers like
Coppersea
, who use Migliorelli rye for their
Empire Rye
.
Ken also established his own on-farm brewery,
From the Ground,
with brew master
J
ake Cirell, and he sells grains for animal feed to Quattro's Game Farm, a Greenmarket poultry producer.
Dirt hounds take note: since adding small grains to his rotations, Ken's soil organic matter has increased by a whopping 1.5-3%. Excellent! Proof that partaking in a NYS beer or cocktail helps establish a more sustainable local food system. Cheers!
Next, we crossed the Hudson River to
Sfoglini
'S
new facility in West Coxsackie, NY. Two tiny pasta machines (the ones they began with in Brooklyn’s Pfizer Building back in 2013) were tucked into a corner of the vast, re-purposed aerospace facility. Colorful pastas--flavored with beets, mint, and sriracha--draped on industrial pasta dryers lined the walls. Sfoglini co-founder
Steve Gonzalez
told us about their recent expansion, including a $2.5 million round of investment and nationwide distribution through Whole Foods. Sfolglini remains committed to local growers; in fact, this commitment was something that attracted investors. In the last year, over 60,000 pounds of local flour (mostly from
Farmer Ground Flour
) went into their pastas. The company is now poised to grow with the Northeast grainshed.
The next day began with a much anticipated tour of
Stone House Farm
, a network of projects developed and supported by Peggy McGrath Rockefeller and her children. We stopped by
Sparrowbush Bakery
just as owner Antoine Guerlaine and his family were unpacking loads of new proofing baskets in preparation for their first full scale bake. Antoine, who baked previously for
Camphill Village,
is setting up shop as an extension of his partner Ashley’s operation,
Sparrowbush Farm
. We can't wait to try Sparrowbush Breads!
On the other side of the property, David Goldstein runs the onsite
Hudson Valley Carbon Lab.
David explained the six year rotation program they use to build soil and measure carbon capture. Stone House has a major research component with a mission to gather hard data on the impact of cover crops. David also showed us
“Hudson Hemp,”
a state sponsored pilot program to grow fiber and CBD hemp at the farm.
Ben Dobson, the Farm Manager of Stone House Farm, then gave us a whirlwind tour of the farm's grain operation, that included fields of barley, rye, AC Morley, and Glenn wheat, with a pair of towering combines that is the base of the operation.
Stone house has become both a source for farmers looking for organic feed, as well as an important resource for learning and research. Dobsen now growing grains for brewers and distillers, and he’s preparing to grow food and baking grade grains in the future.
Our last stop was at
Hudson Valley Malt.
In 2014,
Dennis
and Jeanette Nesel launched the malt house, one of the few floor malting facilities operating in the country. Dennis believes this technique makes for superior malt flavor.
Standing amid a rolling landscape of sprouted barley, Dennis walked us through the intricacies of the malting process, from soaking the grain, to letting it dry and cool, and then roasting it to bring out unique and delicate flavors. Dennis, who still works in finance (though it’s hard to tell which is the side gig), loves being the middle-man. He explained to us how growing malting barley gives barley farmers an additional revenue stream. The Nesels' have contracts with 24 breweries and four distilleries, including Migliorelli’s
“From The Ground Brewery.”
Dennis has one goal for all of them: “I want to be their secret weapon!”
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Governor's
Island Grain Farm
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We've got Oats! Our colleagues at GrowNYC's Teaching Garden on Governor's Island are harvesting their first (ever!) grain crop, and they have hung a few sheaves of oats to dry. Stay tuned for more updates. Winter wheat planting season is just around the corner!
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Variety Showcase at Project Farmhouse
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This year the Culinary Breeding Network is partnering with
GrowNYC
to bring the VARIETY SHOWCASE to
Project Farmhouse
.
The Variety Showcase is an interactive mixer designed to build community between plant breeders, organic farmers, and eaters. Attendees have the opportunity to taste new and in-development vegetable, fruit and grain cultivars with the breeders that created them; share opinions; talk about needs and preferences; and learn about the importance of organic plant breeding.
The Greenmarket Regional Grains Project will be joined by members of the wheat breeding team at Cornell.
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Beam Fundraiser with GrowNYC and Dos Toros
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Beam connects brands to nonprofit organizations, allowing customers to donate part of their purchase to organizations like GrowNYC.
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Barley loses it's hull.
Naked barley will have its NYC debut in September as our colleagues from Cornell and Oregon State University will be here for the Variety Showcase. Join us on
Tuesday September 25th
at
Threes Brewing
for a discussion and tasting of hull-less barley varieties in various forms, led by the team at
Barley World
from OSU. Email for more details. [email protected]
This meeting is geared towards professionals, but we have saved some seats for grain geeks. By giving a one time gift of $50.00 to the Greenmarket Regional Grains Project, you will be entered into a drawing to win two tickets to the Showcase.
Click here
to make your donation and enter to win!
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Make donations to GrowNYC
here
.
Many thanks!
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By shopping at your neighborhood Greenmarket farmers market, you are directly supporting small family farms and ensuring continued access to fresh local food for all New Yorkers.
Greenmarket is a program of
GrowNYC
, a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Learn more about GrowNYC's community gardens, recycling and hands-on education programs and make a donation to support small family farms
here
.
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Project Farmhouse
, GrowNYC’s sustainability center and events space, is available for rent for your next party, meeting, or conference.
This unique space, just steps from our iconic Union Square Greenmarket, features a projection wall and sound system, a Boffi Soho kitchen, hydroponic living wall, and more. You can also feel good knowing your rental fee will support public programming focused on the environment and the good food movement.
Project Farmhouse encompasses 3,500 square feet, and it can host 240 people for a cocktail party, or 100 people for a sit-down affair.
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Would you prefer to receive this newsletter in Spanish? Greenmarket is happy to announce that the Greenmarket Dirt is now available en español! Just visit our
sign up page
and click GMKT - Greenmarket - Spanish to receive it.
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GrowNYC/Greenmarket | 212-788-7900 | www.grownyc.org
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