July 21, 2015, Pomfret…On Sunday, August 23 from 1 to 3PM, the Pomfret Agriculture Commission will host a Farmer’s Market at the Pomfret Recreation Center on Route 97 in Abington. The market will feature fruit, produce, meat, and other products produced in Pomfret and surrounding towns. This one-day event is a celebration of local agriculture and a chance to gauge interest in a future Pomfret farmer’s market during the growing season.
The purpose of this event and the mission of the Agriculture Commission are to preserve and promote local agriculture. The Commission is treating this one-day market as a pilot project in an effort to gain experience running a farmer’s market and to evaluate the community response. After the event, the Commission will discuss the results and determine if they should host more frequent markets in the future or if a once-a-year market is the perfect fit for Pomfret.
The following Pomfret farms will participate in the event on August 23rd: Lapsley Orchard, Unbound Glory Farm, Sunny Patch Farm, Maple Brook Farm, Abington Grown and We-Li-Kit Farm. In addition, local farms from surrounding towns will also participate: Brookside Cattle and Meadow Stone Farm from Brooklyn and Hundred Acre Farm from Canterbury. Jean & Milo’s Kettle Corn will also be on site for a family friendly snack.
At this Pomfret Market, Lapsley Orchard (www.LapsleyOrchard.com) will offer a diverse selection of seasonal fruit & vegetables from its 200-acre farm, which has fed the community since the days of Israel Putnam in 1750. Lapsley’s popular farm stand on Rt. 169 is a local landmark and attracts hordes of visitors from near and far for seasonal pick-your-own. Two other well established Pomfret farms are Abington Grown and We-Li-Kit Farm. Abington Grown will offer its unique draft-animal-produced, no-spray, vegetables (abingtongrown.com).
Celebrating its 25th year in business, We-Lik-It Farm (welikit.com) raises beef cattle with no antibiotics, growth hormones, steroids or animal by-products. They will offer farm fresh freezer beef at the market. We-Lik-It is also known for its rich homemade ice cream made with 16% butterfat. The ice cream stand on Rt. 97 features farm animals for the kids to visit and waffle cones made to order.
Relative newcomers to Pomfret’s growing agriculture business are Sunny Patch Farm and Unbound Glory Farm. A small family farm, Sunny Patch Farm (www.SunnyPatchFarm.com) raises a small batch of pasture-raised meat chickens every year. Their flock is fed certified organic feed and the chickens are processed at a USDA approved facility. They also keep a breeding flock of Coturnix quail, which they sell in addition to quail chicks and fertile quail eggs. Newer project include bee keeping and growing Shiitake mushrooms on hardwood logs. Sunny Patch Farm will offer pasture-raised chicken at the market.
In their second year of farming in Pomfret, Unbound Glory Farm (www.UnboundGloryFarm.com) grows and sells a wide array of vegetables, including many heirloom varieties, using practices that often go beyond organic standards. Other offerings include sunflowers, culinary herbs, and quail and chicken eggs from organically fed animals. Their farm stand on Rt. 97 is open weekends throughout the growing season.
Maple Brook farm is based in Chaplin, but the Therriens own land and live in Pomfret, where their vegetables are grown. Maple syrup and fruit is harvested from the Chaplin property and they maintain bee hives in both towns. Maple Brook Farm will offer vegetables, pickles, relishes, maple syrup and honey at the Pomfret Market.
Hundred Acre Farm in Canterbury is a small family run business. At the Pomfret market, they will offer low or no-sugar jams, jellies, fruit butters and applesauce. They also use natural alternative sweeteners such as honey or maple syrup.
For more information on the Pomfret Agriculture Commission or the Pomfret Farmer’s Market event, contact Bill Wood at (860) 315-5287.