Please join us for this year's annual farm tour for Fair Food members and other area food industry professionals! This year, we're visiting Taproot Farm, a small-scale, family-owned, Certified Naturally Grown farm specializing in field vegetables, microgreens, strawberries, and pastured eggs; and Subarashii Kudamono, growers of specialty Asian pears and products like pear spread, dried pears, cider, and spirits.
Address:
Subarashii Kudamono at Nashimon Farm (meet at 10:00 a.m.)
5452 Holstein Dr.
Kempton, PA 19529
Subarashii Kudamono is the passion project of the late Joel Spira, inventor of the light dimmer and founder of Coopersburg-based Lutron Technologies, and his wife Ruth Rodale Spira, botanist and daughter of organic farming icon J.I. Rodale. Spira fell in love with Asian pears on a business trip to Japan in 1973; the farm has been in operation since then, producing established varieties of Asian pears and developing their own special types. Subarashii Kudamono (which means "wonderful fruit" in Japanese) is now the third largest producer of Asian pears by acreage in the United States and sells its fresh fruit in season to retailers like Wegman's, Fair Food Farmstand, and others in the Philly area. Their value-added products, like dried pears, Asian pear spread, Asian pear blossom honey, and pear wine and eau de vie, are also available.
There will be lunch provided at Subarashii Kudamono.
Address:
Taproot Farm (meet at 12:30 p.m.)
66 Kemmerer Rd, Shoemakersville, PA 19555
Taproot Farm was founded in 2009. It is located north of Lake Ontelaunee, outside of Shoemakersville, PA. The farm sells its Certified Naturally Grown produce and pastured eggs through farmers' markets, a CSA program, and to retailers and restaurants in the Philadelphia area. It is managed and co-owned by Farmer George Brittenburg and his wife, Ola Creston. Taproot's produce and eggs are top sellers at the Fair Food Farmstand. Their quality, along with the farm's commitment to organic farming practices and excellent service, makes Taproot one of the small farms most often recommended to wholesale buyers and chefs through Fair Food's local procurement consulting program.
How to get there:
In order to keep costs down, we are using carpooling as our method of transportation. Please indicate whether or not you need a ride, or can offer a ride when registering. To account for traffic on the way to our tour stops, we recommend leaving Philadelphia by 8:00am to arrive at our first stop, Subarashii Kudamono, for a 10am tour. Click here for a map of our route.
What to Bring:
Wear comfortable clothing and closed-toed shoes that you don't mind getting dirty -- we are visiting farms, after all! Bring a camera, water, and if you like, sunblock, bug spray, and light snacks.
Questions? Contact us at [email protected].
