Working Farms & Food

Farmland and forests produce the necessities of life and provide essential natural services. In PEC’s nine county area, over 180,000 acres of farmland and 140,000 acres of forests are protected through private, voluntary land conservation.

New ‘Buy Fresh Buy Local’ Food Guides Now Available!

New ‘Buy Fresh Buy Local’ Food Guides Now Available!

This text was taken from an email alert sent out on May 7, 2025. Sign up for email alerts →

Dear Supporter,

We’re excited to announce that PEC’s 2025-26 Buy Fresh Buy Local Guides have been printed and are on their way to you! 

The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) is proud to produce and mail Buy Fresh Buy Local guides to over 330,000 households throughout our nine-county region and make it available online (see links below). These popular local food guides are a great way to support working farms and learn more about local food options! 

For more than 50 years, The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) has worked to conserve and restore the lands and waters of the Virginia Piedmont. We believe that doing so requires a strong, sustainable agricultural economy that helps keep rural lands economically viable. 

That’s why we take a direct role in promoting working farms and the fresh foods and beverages they produce through our biennial Buy Fresh Buy Local guides. From veggies and fruit, to meat and dairy, to beer, wine and more, you’ll find all of your favorite local foods and beverages in our newly released 2025-2026 guides for the Northern PiedmontLoudoun County and Charlottesville Area

Learn more about each of our three guides below:


Northern Piedmont

Cover of Buy Fresh Buy Local Northern Piedmont print guide

Our Northern Piedmont guide features nearly 250 local food producers and distributors in Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock counties. Among its listings are 124 local farms and orchards, 11 farmers markets, 37 specialty beverage producers, 24 restaurants and caterers that source locally, and 24 retailers, many of which are displayed on a travel map of the Northern Piedmont area. In addition, there are 19 value-added products that are part of a newly introduced section showcasing entrepreneurs adding value to locally grown products in the form of baked goods, sauces and more.

Northern Piedmont Highlights

This year’s Northern Piedmont guide also highlights two committed local farms and one community group: Kinloch Farm, a livestock farm in Fauquier County, focuses on the intersection of conservation and agriculture, using regenerative farming to incorporate grazing management practices through an adaptive lens that respects ecological cycles, improving the landscape and providing a flourishing habitat and food for wildlife, pollinators and the herd. The Chapman Farm, a cattle farm located in Bealeton, was one of the first farms in their neighborhood to implement water troughs and fencing in their fields that help keep waterways clean, and have been a center for conservation education in the region. And the Carver Food Enterprise Center is doing good work to assist small value-added food businesses and decrease food waste and insecurity across the Piedmont.

Northern Piedmont Sponsors

A special thank you goes to this year’s Northern Piedmont guide sponsors, including the PATH Foundation, Finest Butcher, Wegmans, Choose Culpeper Farms, Culpeper Harvest Days Farm Tour, Farm Credit, Purely Piedmont, Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Fauquier Agricultural HomeGrown Program, and Mad Magic Kombucha, as well as local food industry sponsors including Kinloch Farm, F.T. Valley Orchard at Mont Medi, Sunnyside Farm & Conservancy, Rappahannock County Farm Tour, Buchanan Hall Community Market, Riders Backfield Farm Beef, Hidden Creek Farm, Red Truck Bakery, Field & Main, Four J’s Farm & Brewery, Ovoka Farm, Virginia Bison Company at Cibola Farms, DuCard Vineyard, Belmont Farm Distillery, 4P Foods, and VA Soil Health Coalition


Loudoun County

Cover of Buy Fresh Buy Local Loudoun County print guide

The Loudoun County guide features more than 170 local food producers and distributors in—you guessed it—Loudoun County. Among its listings are 71 local farms and orchards, nine farmers markets, 40 specialty beverage producers, 26 restaurants and caterers that source locally, 29 retailers (farm stands and grocers), and five value-added producers who have helped launch a new section for the Loudoun chapter!

Loudoun County Highlights

This year’s Loudoun area guide also highlights three local farm businesses. Long Stone Farm carefully stewards over 300 acres of rolling farmland in Lovettsville. By rotational grazing and careful nutrient management, they produce high quality proteins including non-GMO pork, beef, chicken, and eggs. Fireside Farm cultivates a diverse array of high quality vegetables grown by regenerative methods with extra care of the soil and their downstream neighbors. They also offer their veggies and grain in the form of gourmet wood-fired pizza at events around Loudoun. Wheatland Spring Farm & Brewery makes beer with ingredients grown onsite that reflects the distinct agricultural region of Virginia’s Piedmont — a concept they call “land beer.”

Loudoun County Sponsors

A special thank you goes to this year’s Loudoun guide sponsors, including the PATH Foundation, Finest Butcher , Wegmans, Loudoun VA Cooperative Extension, Farm Credit, Visit Loudoun, Loudoun Farm Bureau, Loudoun Valley Homegrown Market Cooperative, Mom’s Apple Pie, Long Stone Farm, NOVEC, Great Country Farms, Willowsford Farm, Ayrshire Farm and VA Soil Health Coalition.


Charlottesville Area

Cover of Buy Fresh Buy Local Charlottesville Area print guide

The Charlottesville Area guide features 239 local food producers and distributors in Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson counties. Among its listings are 103 local farms and orchards, 15 farmers markets, 36 specialty beverage producers, 37 restaurants and caterers that source locally, 24 grocers, and 24 value-added products.

Charlottesville Area Highlights

This year’s Charlottesville Area guide also highlights two local growers and one local farm-to-table restaurant. Forrest Green Farm in Louisa County offers an array of farm-raised and locally-grown products. The farm employs a variety of conservation approaches, including regenerative farming, adaptive grazing practices and other holistic land management practices that contribute to healthy land, animals, and soil. Deep Roots Milling in Nelson County operates out of the historic Woodson mill (est. 1794), which uses a time-tested, environmentally sustainable process, using the power of water, to grind their locally-sourced grain, giving their products a unique and desirable texture and nutritional content that bakers love. FARMacy Cafe and Food Truck offers local Charlottesville residents its flavorful and healthful Mexican fusion cuisine that emphasizes nutrient-rich, organic, local ingredients sourced through collaborations with local organic farmers.

Charlottesville Area Sponsors

A special thank you goes to this year’s Charlottesville Area guide sponsors, including PATH Foundation, Finest Butcher, Wegmans, New Country Organics, Farm Credit, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Brickyard Bulls, Peter Wiley Real Estate, Albemarle Economic DevelopmentMarket Central’s Market at Ix, Integral Yoga Natural Foods, Carter Mountain Orchard, Feast, Chiswell Farm & Winery, Hummingbird Hill Native Plant Nursery, and VA Soil Health Coalition.


A big ‘thank you’ goes out to all of the farms and businesses who participated to make this guide a comprehensive resource for the community! 

If you know a farm or business that didn’t make it into the guide, but would like to be listed, they can register on Virginia Market Maker and select the affiliation Buy Fresh Buy Local for the chapter they reside in to sign up!

One last note for our Clarke County members: Clarke County falls within the Shenandoah Valley Buy Fresh Buy Local chapter, and that guide isbrought to you by the Virginia Cooperative Extension; find out more about the Shenandoah Valley chapter and other Buy Fresh Buy Local chapters at buylocalvirginia.org.

Sincerely,

Lea Justice
Buy Fresh Buy Local Assistant
540-347-2334 ext. 7027
[email protected]

A woman with long light brown hair wearing a black jacket and dark green top in front of a green leafy background.

Piedmont Environmental Council Launches 2025-2026 Buy Fresh Buy Local Guides

Piedmont Environmental Council Launches 2025-2026 Buy Fresh Buy Local Guides

With spring in full bloom across the Virginia Piedmont, The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) is pleased to announce the release of the 2025-2026 Buy Fresh Buy Local guide, a bi-annual handbook that helps to connect residents throughout the region to fresh local food directly from farmers, farmers markets, and food businesses in their communities.

Chapman Farm – More Than a Century of Land and Legacy

Chapman Farm – More Than a Century of Land and Legacy

“We believe the well-being of our cattle contributes to their overall health, and in turn, yours,” reads the front of the pamphlet for Chapman Farms, located in Bealeton. The sentence summarizes the values that guide Claudius Edwin “Claude” Chapman Jr. and Carla Jean Carmona-Chapman’s work. These are values that have been lived and taught through four generations of Chapman family farmers.

Deep Roots Milling

Deep Roots Milling

The men behind Deep Roots Milling —Charlie Wade, Aaron Grigsby, and Ian Gamble — are as genuine as they are diverse. Each brings complementary skillsets to their partnership, yet they are equally dedicated to sourcing local grains, providing nutrient-dense products, and helping us all create high quality food (think buckwheat pancakes, tortillas, breads, cookies, granola, and more!). They are currently set up to process wheat, corn, rye, buckwheat, spelt, and rolled oats. 

FARMacy Cafe & Food Truck is Mexican Fusion at its Finest

FARMacy Cafe & Food Truck is Mexican Fusion at its Finest

Mexican fusion is a perfect way to describe FARMacy Cafe and Food Truck. Fusion is simply a term used when a cuisine combines elements of different culinary traditions. Thanks to Jessica and Gabino Lino, we can enjoy the delicious combination of his Mexican roots and her holistic nutrition roots, both of which appear throughout their creative offerings. 

Forrest Green Farm cultivates healthy food, healthy land and healthy people

Forrest Green Farm cultivates healthy food, healthy land and healthy people

Krista and Rob Rahm have owned and operated Forrest Green Farm since 1992. The 423-acre farm in Louisa County is a marvel to visit, with its spectacular views of the Blue Ridge and diverse offerings of farm-raised meat, poultry, dairy, herbs and produce, as well as other locally grown products. It also offers visitors the opportunity to see a model for regenerative farming practices that have restored soils while enhancing the land’s beauty.

Farmed with Care at Long Stone

Farmed with Care at Long Stone

A quick browse on Long Stone’s website will tell you this farm is “owned and farmed with care” by Casey and Justin Wisch and their four young children. Although a simple phrase, the magnitude of that care is apparent after just a short conversation with these farmers who produce non-GMO pastured pork, beef, chicken and eggs on over 300 acres in Lovettsville.