~ This post was originally published July 21, 2015. ~
Welcome a new member!
Anne Marie Blinco, owner of Amaryllis Garden Greens, joined the ranks of Upstart Farmers with her Freight Farm in Milton, Ontario this week. Anne Marie is ambitious, and a go-getter just like the rest of the Upstart Farmers.
Anne Marie’s first market is going to be selling to CrossFit gyms. She will have a CSA-style service where CrossFit members can sign up for greens and pick up their order after their workout. She plans on using live sales to sell at a farmer’s market next year.
Having raised four sons and been involved in sports her whole life, Anne Marie understands what a positive impact sports can have on the development of young world citizens. As part of her efforts to grow local food, Blinco is using some of Amaryllis’ profits to sponsor young athletes who would otherwise not be able to compete.
Welcome her by following her on Twitter!
Read more about Amaryllis Greens.
See how fresh greens can impact a restaurant
We’ve talked about how to approach restaurants before, but sometimes we fail to understand just how transformative fresh greens can be to a restaurant menu.
We recently spotlighted a pub here in Laramie called The Alibi. The owners, Kerri and Ethan Smith, are extremely dedicated to their standards, and the green wall that they have in their kitchen is the only option that allows them to stick to those standards year-round.
“We roast our own chickens in the wood fire for chicken pesto pizza and a couple sandwiches that we do with the pulled chicken (we do a chicken caesar). Rosemary, thyme, sage – that’s all used on the chickens that we roast. We’ve played with spicy basil and done a burrata salad with spicy basil as the topping; we did it with nectarines and tomatoes.
“We bake our own bread down here so we do a cheddar and chive bread. Chives are also used in our house-made Ranch. Tarragon is used in our house-made Russian dressing for Rubens. Sheila Bird Farms [a local farmer south of town] provide all of the greens for our salads. Once they start producing other produce we’ll do cabbage for sauerkraut and fish slaw for our fish tacos. Cilantro is used in our fish tacos.”
I encourage you all to check that post out and consider how your own greens could be the solution for restaurants near you!
It’s Upstart Farmer Friday!
Which means updates and discussions with other Upstarts on social media. Use #UpstartFarmersFriday on Twitter and let us know an update about your farm!
Last week we saw Sean Cowperthwaite’s set up and the Farm Wall that Bayberry Fresh built for Pateros Creek Brewing Company.