2003 Glynwood Harvest Award Winners

The Glynwood Harvest Farmer Award recognizes a farmer who has developed a sustainable farming operation and built effective relationships with his or her home community and other communities where the food is consumed.

Winners:  Jim and Moie Crawford of New Morning Farm in Pennsylvania have also responded to new market opportunities. The Crawfords grow more than 40 types of vegetables on their 95 acre certified organic farm. In each growing season they plant almost 200 times to make their produce available to restaurants and other customers over an extended season. Jim was also in the lead in creating the Tuscarora Organic Growers Cooperative, which facilities the marketing for dozens of producers year round.

The Crawfords were nominated by Nora Pouillon, chef and owner of two of Washington, DC’s most popular restaurants, who uses the Crawford’s produce and is a longtime advocate for improving the quality and nutritional value of the food supply.

The Glynwood Harvest Good Neighbor Award goes to an organization that has supported regional agriculture in innovative ways, which might include but are not limited to public education and developing financing techniques to support new farmers.

Winner:  Niman Ranch, based in California and Iowa, for its success in nurturing and marketing a network of small producers, resulting in some of the nation’s highest quality meat. Niman is a company that markets and distributes meats from a network of small producers who adhere to a strict code of animal husbandry principles. Increasing numbers of consumers and restaurants request these products to obtain high quality meat, produced in ways that respect the welfare of the animals and the environment. The national market created by Niman Ranch has been critical to sustaining many small producers, particularly small hog producers in Iowa.

The Connecting Communities, Farmers & Food Award honors those who have created new connections between farmers and urban consumers.

Winners:  New York City’s Just Food and the Rogowski Family Farm. Just Food, a nonprofit organization, has played a leading role in encouraging the growth of CSAs in New York City. It matches groups and farmers based on specific needs. It also shows groups how to implement a range of payment options that encourage participation by low-income community members. Just Food assists new farmers through peer to peer mentoring and a Farmer Toolkit. The CSAs provide more than 80% of the income for some of the farmers and is critical to their ability to stay in business. Just Food’s work has also inspired soup kitchens and food pantries to explore how they can meet more of their needs through local farms. In 2003, the program will provide 300 tons of locally grown vegetables, through 2,100 shares to 6,300 CSA members, including 1,000 low-income members.

The growing number of consumers who want fresh, high quality food has provided new opportunities for farmers - and many are responding creatively. For example, the Rogowski Family Farm in Orange County, New York worked with Just Food to establish the first CSA in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, and have adapted quickly to their customer’s needs. After their Williamsburg customers introduced the Rogowskis to the special vegetables used in Hispanic cuisine, the Rogowskis began to grow them. When they realized that seniors weren’t participating in their local CSA because they didn’t need a full “share”, they created a “Senior Share of the Harvest” – a smaller share at a smaller price. Eventually they plan to create a CSA that includes prepared foods.

The Awards were presented at an Awards Ceremony in New York City by Chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill restaurant in Greenwich Village; Henry A. Jordan, M.D., a conservation leader who is past Chairman of The National Trust for Historic Preservation and currently Chairman of Glynwood Center and Joan Gussow, author and professor emeritus of Teachers College at Columbia University, and a longtime advocate of eating local foods.

Click here to view the press release for this event