Farm tours and culinary workshops promote the food of Rutland County

This April through September, RAFFL, the Rutland Area Farm and Food Link, a Rutland based nonprofit working to support area farms and strengthen its community, will offer monthly farm tours and culinary workshops to the public. The series, titled, Real Farms, Real Food, Real Rutland, is funded by a specialty crop grant from the USDA and Vermont Agency of Agriculture. It will allow those interested to get onto the farms of Rutland County and then learn how to cook the foods. Each month, different farms and foods will be highlighted, allowing for a wide range of tastes and experiences to be enjoyed.
The goal is to provide participants with a deeper understanding of how the foods are grown and how to affordably use them at home in their kitchens. In the process, Rutland County’ s specialty crop producers ‘ which includes those with fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, nursery crops and floriculture ‘ will benefit from a more informed and connected consumer base.
At the same time, many of the farms and foods that the series will highlight showcase the unique agriculture happenings throughout Rutland County. ‘ We have some new and exciting farms participating that are growing foods such as shiitake mushrooms, tree nuts, and even rice patties,’ said RAFFL’ s community engagement coordinator, Elizabeth Theriault.
Although the tours will occur on farms situated throughout the county, RAFFL will provide transportation from downtown Rutland and back, in order for anyone interested to have a chance at attending.
The first tour in the series was held on Sunday April 14th at Tangled Roots farm in Shrewsbury. Twenty-five attendees learned about growing mushrooms and witnessed the inoculation process used by the farmers. The event quickly sold out and RAFFL hopes the enthusiasm will continue on throughout the summer.
The culinary workshops, on the other hand, will also be easily accessible at kitchen sites right in Rutland. Run by knowledgeable individuals involved in local food, such as instructors and students from Stafford Tech’ s culinary program, a local caterer, and a bread teacher, attendees will have opportunities to get a feel and taste for the foods, while learning how to get the most for their money.
‘ We’ re hoping to show people that cooking and buying local doesn’ t have to be expensive or complicated. In fact, with the proper knowledge ‘ such as buying in bulk when foods are at their prime or using a particular item through multiple meals ‘ eating locally can save money,’ said Steve Peters, coordinator of RAFFL’ s Everyday Chef program.
For those who cannot attend, some of the workshops will be held and filmed at the PEG-TV kitchen studio, allowing for a larger audience to gain access to the useful content.
For more information on the series, or any of RAFFL’ s other farm and community education programs, you can access their website at www.rutlandfarmandfood.org, email [email protected], or call 417-1528.