Inspired by all the ways food gives to our community, we’re striving to give back. We’ve partnered with local farm County Line Harvest to turn thousands of pounds of their unused produce into jams, preserves, and sauces that can be sold at nearby farmer’s markets. It’s our way of helping cut back on food waste while supporting our local agriculture.
How it works
County Line Harvest sets aside their unused, unsellable produce for us—perfectly good fruits and vegetables that are oddly shaped, for example—and we happily pick it up and process it into delicious products that can be sold back to the farm at discounted rates.
Since our kitchen is currently a work-in-progress, we’ve found a temporary home for the program with our close friends at Backyard Restaurant in Forestville, CA. In just our first three weeks there, we turned more than 2500 pounds of unused County Line tomatoes into 3000 jars of goods that the farm can now sell at local farmers markets. We’re proud to be part of such a collaborative endeavor that helps eliminate food waste, and soon we’ll be processing even more produce and expanding to help even more farms from our own kitchen. You can help us achieve this goal through our Kickstarter campaign.
Helping each other grow
Using Wind & Rye as a kind of starting block allows County Line Harvest the chance to explore the benefits, risks, challenges and outcomes of producing a retail product without making the huge “leap of faith” investment of purchasing a production space of their own. Our hope is to help farms like County Line prepare, so when they do out grow our facility, they will have recipes, packaging and processes in place that they can easily implement on a larger scale. Wind & Rye’s kitchen will then be open to start this same process with another farm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I purchase the products you are making with County Line Harvest?
For a full list of the locations and markets where County Line Harvest currently sells their fresh produce and canned goods, visit their website.
My farm has extra produce. How can we start working with Wind & Rye?
GREAT! We would love to hear from you. Please contact Laci through our contact page.