Field Trip

Chester County "Farm to Table" Tour -- Keeping it Local

Thursday, April 8 -- 8:30 am - 2:00 pm Meet at the Desmond Hotel Main Lobby.

An opportunity to discover the unmatched bounty grown and raised right here in Chester County, Pennsylvania, this tour will take you to four outstanding farms and will culminate with a seasonal lunch of locally grown artisan foods prepared by chef/owner Sean Weinberg of the acclaimed Restaurant Alba. Lunch will include an opportunity for additional discussion with participating farmers.

Our day will begin at Rushton Farm, a program of the Willistown Conservation Trust. Rushton Farm serves as a model for sustainable agricultural practices and promotes the values of open space and natural resource protection. By bringing together community members, farmers, and land in a mutually supportive relationship, the farm program seeks to contribute to the growth of local, sustainable food networks and connect people more closely with the rural landscape and agricultural heritage of the Willistown countryside. Launched in 2008 on a beautiful meadow that has never seen pesticides or herbicides, the Rushton Farm plans to grow to a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) with 120 members.

Our next stop will take us to Birchrun Hills Farm’s cheese making facility located in Kimberton, Pa. Birchrun Hills Farm is a family owned dairy that produces hand crafted raw milk cheese from the milk of their Holstein cows. The cows come first on this farm because the quality of the milk defines the character of the cheese. No growth hormones are used.

Next we will visit Broadwater Farm, a 110-acre pastured livestock operation that raises and sells beef, lamb and poultry. At Broadwater farms animals are raised in lush pastures using a simple natural approach to produce meat and eggs. They do not use chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers on their pastures or give their animals growth hormones or antibiotics.

Our last stop on the farm tour will be Canter Hill Farm; a family owned and operated business that brings fresh, hormone and chemical free produce, meat and dairy products back to families. Committed to sustainable farming practices and focused on education, Canter Hill provides the community with an opportunity to participate in the growing trend to “buy fresh & buy local”.