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.
I’d like to take a minute this week to highlight three upcoming events geared towards PEC members and supporters.
March is our Membership Month, a time of year when we celebrate our current members and encourage others to join or renew! Learn more and sign up to attend!
Farmland lost is farmland lost forever. Budget amendment 97 #2h (Gooditis) would provide an additional $2 million to the Farmland Preservation Fund grant program (current funding is only $250,000), providing much-needed matching funds and encouraging other localities to adopt Purchase of Development Rights programs of their own.
We had an incredible 2020 season at the Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows! Thanks to the tireless work of over 470 volunteers, we donated more than 25,000 pounds of fresh, locally grown produce to our partners at Loudoun Hunger Relief!
What was expected to be a slow and steady increase in production this year turned into something much more, as PEC worked to respond to the local impacts of Covid-19. We increased production by 4x what it was in 2019!
We need your support as we plan for the fast-approaching 2021 season. Make a donation today.
Read more about this season at the farm and the rest of PEC’s Farm to Food Pantry Initiatives
Since March, with the help of partners and supporters, The Piedmont Environmental Council has provided 25,000 pounds of vegetables, 25,000 gallons of milk, and more than 11,000 pounds of local beef and pork to the food-insecure in our nine-county region of the northern Piedmont. That’s more than 50,000 pounds of locally-sourced products for local food banks, which has a very different impact on the local economy than shipping in 50,000 pounds of food from somewhere else.
Ovoka Farm owner Karen Way, of Paris, is donating 10,000 pounds of locally-raised ground beef and ground pork toward The Piedmont Environmental Council’s Farm to Food Bank initiative, which is supporting food banks throughout the northern Piedmont.
As of early September, we have donated more than 22,000 pounds of fresh produce to Loudoun Hunger Relief!
Building on the success of our dairy initiative, The Piedmont Environmental Council worked with Fauquier Community Food Bank and Lakota Ranch to pilot a new initiative — purchasing high-quality, locally-raised beef to donate to local food pantries experiencing shortages during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Early one May morning, a Maola Dairy delivery truck took an unusual turn through the gates and into the parking lot of the Fauquier Community Food Bank. Nearby, Director Sharon Ames’ excitement was palpable as she jumped up and down, hands clapping, smile as wide as the gates swung open that day. Since the coronavirus pandemic, Ames said the food bank has had to turn away families in search of milk more often than they’ve been able to provide it.
The Gilberts Corner Farmers Market sits at the intersections of Route 15 and Route 50 in Loudoun County, about 1 mile east of Aldie, Virginia. In 2019, The Piedmont Environmental Council proudly announced our new ownership of the market and set forth with plans to enhance its history as a place to find local food and fiber.
Join PEC staff for a look at the importance of local farms and food during the Covid-19 pandemic. This webinar was recorded on June 5, 2020. 