One of our strongest partnerships is with Harlow Farm located in Westminster, Vermont. Harlow Farm is a family owned operation, owned by the Harlow family since 1917. Paul Harlow owns Harlow Farm while his brother Dan owns Harlow Farmstand. Food Connects work closely with Evan Harlow, Paul’s son, and Cory Walker who manage the day-to-day operations of the farm.

Harlow Farms became certified organic in 1985. Paul recognized the benefits of organic farming early in the movement. They are now the largest organic vegetable operation in Vermont. They grow a wide variety of vegetables including lettuce, kales, collards, cabbage, broccoli, chard, sweet corn, carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips, rutabaga, and winter squash. Evan’s favorite product they grow is kale because the plant continues to grow new leaves throughout the season and they get many harvests from each planting.

They distribute their produce locally through Food Connects along with other distributors but also sell to grocery store chains like Whole Foods and Price Chopper. In the summer it’s too hot to grow greens in places like Kentucky, Georgia, and Florida, so they ship produce to those regions through a broker. But selling locally is most important to them. They see it as an important part of strengthening their community.

“We like to provide quality produce to the people who live near us. Food Connects has been a valuable partner since we started working with them,” said Evan. In fact, Harlow Farm is a founding member of the Food Connects Food Hub. “It is useful for us to sell to many smaller outlets without having to deal with them all directly.”

Want to visit Harlow farm? Join them on July 24 for a pizza social in conjunction with NOFA-VT. They event is from 5:30 to 7:30 pm and all are welcome! You can RSVP to the event here. Harlow Farm is a member of NOFA-VT and planted an apple try this season as part of an orchard to honor former executive director Enid Wonnocott.