Foodies and families enjoy a Day on the Farm

Some Madison-area children became picklers last Sunday, and the adults joined in too. Crossroads Community Farm hosted a Day on the Farm with demonstrations on “pickling two ways” for grown-ups and a kids table stocked with bandanas, face paint, and pickling supplies.

Area chefs were also out in full force, preparing food with local ingredients for attendees. The menu included grilled pizzas, fried pork belly and spare ribs, and a cold tomato soup with basil oil.

About a hundred people, including many families, journeyed to the 18-acre organic vegetable farm south of the city for a gourmet lunch and food-centered activities. The event, coordinated by Buy Fresh, Buy Local serves to educate local foodies about growing, harvesting and distributing local crops. The proceeds from the event fund the program.

Buy Fresh, Buy Local, part of the REAP Food Group, works with restaurants, hospitals, and grocery stores to help them source and promote the use of local food. Sunday’s event marked the third annual Day on the Farm, the first to take place at an organic vegetable farm. Last year’s event took place at a dairy farm, and two years ago, at a meat-focused farm.

“[The event] gives people the ability to get out of the city and spend the day out in the country, and just see more of what the local food system is like,” said Maria Davis, Buy Fresh, Buy Local coordinator.

In addition to all the pickling at the farm, the event featured a tour with owners Mike and Cassie Noltnerwyss. The couple operates the farm and cares for three pigs. They provide for 305 CSA members and supply produce wholesale to Willy Street West and Metcalf’s in Madison. Their two-year-old daughter Zea fit right in with a crowd of young children.

Fern Knepp attended with her husband, Eric, and two-year-old daughter Violet for the second year in a row.

“We like [Violet] to see where the food comes from,” she said. “We go to the [farmer’s] market every weekend, and it’s nice for her to see the faces from the market at the farm.”

Take your own tour of a Day on the Farm through the photo slideshow below.