Lately I’ve been downloading library books and reading them on my laptop. Browsing through the thousands of titles available has given me an eclectic reading list including this wonderful find – Gaining Ground: A Story of Farmers' Markets, Local Food, and Saving the Family Farm. In 1996 Forest Pritchard, who had just graduated from college, decided that he wanted to work on his family farm which had been managed outside the family since his grandfather’s death. He knew very little about farming so the first few years were hard but through trial and error he discovered what worked best and now the farm is thriving.
As I was reading I realized that we would be passing very close to the farm. We’ve heard so many stories about factory farms and seen too many feedlots along the highways so we try to buy grass fed, free range meat. Smith Meadows has a small store right on the farm where customers can buy meat from animals that are pasture raised and never given antibiotics or growth hormones. :- ) Self serve coolers and a freezer contain frozen cuts of beef, pork and lamb, whole chickens, and sausages plus eggs, homemade pasta, and prepared food. The store is opened 7 days a week from 10:00 – 5:00 and is operated on the honor system although you may call ahead if you want assistance. Our freezer is stuffed!
The farm store isn’t accessible due to steps.
The country roads leading to the farm are narrow so use caution. There’s enough room for a RV to park and turn around at the store. Farm Market
39.1732, -77.90043
Sounds like a great find, but the narrow roads concern me. We like to eat natural foods . We will mark this as a spot to stop at when we are in the area, even if it is a bit of a drive.
ReplyDeleteYou might not want to take your fifth wheel down those roads but anything else will be just fine. They also sell at farmers markets in the DC area which would be easier to get to if you're camping nearby.
DeleteDo you ever ask places like this why they don't have a ramp for wheel chairs? It is amazing to me that so many years after the Americans with Disabilities Act, which passed in 1990, that we have viable businesses which still don't have simple access to wheelchairs, mobile carts, etc. In Yosemite they allow for driving access to Mirror Lake if you have a ADA plate/pass, but in Yellowstone they have a trail along an old road called Fountain Flat which stops after so many miles and turns into a walking path only...yet it is still a road. I wrote the head of Yellowstone to ask why cars with ADA plates/passes could not continue down the road, and got no answer. You take the time to write a letter, sign it, and they don't even respond...and it was they (Feds) who created the law. sorry, will step down from the soapbox now...but I know you have issues like this too. --Dave (GoingRvWay.com)
ReplyDeleteDave, I think that there might be a back entrance that could be accessible because of the way that the store is built into the hillside. I also believe that these folks would go out of their way to help even if it meant bring the products out to a customer if they couldn't climb the steps but I know what you mean - the law was created because of situations like this so why do businesses ignore it?
DeleteThe federal government is one of the biggest offenders. The excuse that always makes me angry is the historical structure one - we can't make it accessible because we can't alter the building. Sometimes this is true but many times a ramp or a small lift is all that is needed.
Shortly after I started this blog I also started emailing some of the places that we visited. I pointed out problems areas and gave them suggestions. Most of them answered back fairly fast thanking me and promising to look into the problems and fix what they could. We haven't returned to any of these places to see if they followed through. I got lazy and stopped writing but I really should start again.
Thank you Cozygirl! Your Thanksgiving post is so true. We all have so much to be grateful for. Have a very good Thanksgiving!
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