Please join us for this year's annual farm tour for Fair Food members and other food industry professionals! This year we will be visiting Castle Valley Mill in Doylestown, PA and Blue Moon Acres Farm in Pennington, NJ.
We will start our day with a 10:00 am tour of Castle Valley Mill in Doylestown, PA. Upon arrival, we will embark on an educational tour of this historic mill whose earliest roots can be traced all the way to the late 1700’s. After lying dormant for the better part of two centuries, the Fischer family purchased the old mill in 1947, but it wasn’t until 2010 that Mark Fischer began the massive undertaking of helping restore the building to its former glory. These days, Castle Valley Mill prides itself on using locally sourced grains for their stone ground flour, meal, and mixes to produce everything from ancestral emmer and spelt flour, to grits and cornmeal, and traditional flours for use in pastry, bread, and pasta. Once completing our tour, we will have an opportunity to network with new and old friends during our potluck lunch along the Neshaminy Creek, so please bring your favorite fall bounty dish to enjoy outdoors.
Address:
Castle Valley Mill (meet at 10:00 a.m.)
1730 Lower State Road
Doylestown, PA 18901
After our morning adventure at Castle Valley Mill, our tour continues east at Blue Moon Acres Farm in Pennington, NJ. Starting around 1pm, we will tour this 63-acre certified organic farm and learn more about how the Lyons family grew from a small community supported agriculture model in 1992 to a multi-farm operation, now offering over 60 different products ranging from micro- and salad greens, to assorted vegetables, free range eggs, and even fresh herbs and edible flowers in season. This amazing selection of produce is quickly gaining attention with availability at their Buckingham, PA and Pennington, NJ farm locations, public sales at local small markets, and industry sales direct to chefs. Come join us to learn how Blue Moon Acres Farm has continuously produced such high quality produce while embracing sustainable practices, such as using biodiesel farm equipment and geothermal heating and cooling techniques on their properties.
Address:
Blue Moon Acres Farm (meet at 1:00 p.m.)
11 Willow Creek Dr
Pennington, NJ 08534
How to get there:
In order to keep costs down, we are using carpooling as our main method of transportation. Please indicate whether or not you need a ride, or can offer a ride when registering, and we will try to accommodate you. We recommend leaving Philadelphia by 8:30am to arrive at our first stop, Castle Valley Mill, for a 10am tour. Or, if you’d rather not come into Philly first, your group is welcome to meet us at one or the other location based on your availability and convenience.
What to Bring:
Wear comfortable clothing and closed-toed shoes, bring a camera, water and light snacks. We will be enjoying the Doylestown countryside over a potluck lunch, so please bring your favorite dish to share with others along with either a picnic blanket or camp chairs for seating. Both Castle Valley Mill and Blue Moon Acres Farm will also have local goods available for purchase, so be sure to bring some extra cash to peruse their markets at the end of each tour.
Questions? Contact us at [email protected]
