About Us
Adirondack Harvest is a community organization formed out of concern for the loss and abandonment of farmland in the Adirondacks. Members realized that to keep local food available and to preserve the scenic vistas that farmland provides, farming needs to be profitable. Founding members also had a strong commitment to sustainable farms and wanted to ensure that farm-fresh food is available. To that end, we promote the goods and services of our members while operating as a program of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County.
Since its inception in 2001, Adirondack Harvest has grown to encompass Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Warren, St. Lawrence, Lewis and Jefferson counties in northeastern New York. These counties contain major sections of the Adirondack Park and the Champlain Valley. Other portions of counties located within the Adirondack Park are also participating members including Herkimer, Oneida, Saratoga and Washington.
Our focus has been on expanding markets for local farm products so that consumers have more choice of fresh farm products and on assisting farmers to increase sustainable production to meet the expanding markets.
The Mission Statement of Adirondack Harvest is:
We envision a picturesque and productive working landscape connecting local farmers to their communities and regional markets.
Our goals are to increase opportunities for profitable, sustainable production and sale of high quality food and agricultural products, and to expand consumer choices for locally produced healthy food.
This mission ensures the future preservation and growth of our open farmland while providing a diversity of healthy food products for consumers.
Board of Directors
Teresa Whalen – Warrensburgh Beautification, Inc., representing the southern Adirondack counties
Curtiss Hemm – Carriage House Cooking School, representing consumers
Carol Calabrese – Essex County Industrial Development Agency, representing IDA/tourism
Daniel Rivera (Vice Chair) – Triple Green Jade Farm, representing Essex County
Jane Desotelle (Chair) – Underwood Herbs, representing Clinton County
Robert Barody – Blackberry Hill Farm & Sanctuary, representing farmers
Charlie Harrington – Crown Point town supervisor, representing local government
Roger Hastings – Shady Hill Sheep & Wool Farm, representing Franklin County
David Brunner – Asgaard Farm and Liaison with Cornell Cooperative Extension board
Wynde Kate Reese – Green Goddess Natural Market, representing restaurants & stores
Jeffrey Van Arsdale – Cedar Hedge Farm, representing the western Adirondack counties
Our Work
Promoting agricultural and forestry products in the Adirondack region. Our branded platform features the comprehensive, current local business guide for the Adirondack region. Through sharing unique stories about local businesses, we raise awareness of the need to support the local economy. We boost the efforts of our regional agriculture and forestry producers to help increase the number of people buying locally produced food and products.
Helping connect people and farms during COVID 19. We’ve conducted a survey to understand changes in local consumer buying habits during COVID-19. We provide up to date resources for shoppers to safely support local agriculture during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Connect kids with local food. The Power of Produce Club and Farm to School programs work with schools and communities to rebuild a healthy food system in the Adirondacks. We do this by bringing local food into school cafeterias and creating hands-on learning activities through school gardens, farm visits, and integration of food-related education into the regular classroom curriculum and community events.
Bringing the farm to restaurant tables. We work to increase the number of area restaurants purchasing locally grown food. We host the Farm to Chef Meet & Greet and sponsor the Food From the Farm events each year, which connect chefs, restaurant owners, and management with farmers to highlight the benefits of, and resources for, serving local food.
Celebrating local food with our community. Each year we host an annual Adirondack Harvest Festival that attracts thousands of people from the Northeast. The festival is an opportunity for local residents and tourists to connect with the local agricultural community. The festival serves as an awareness campaign, educational opportunity, and networking event for both farmers and consumers.
