Working Farms and Food

Farmland and forests produce the necessities of life and provide essential natural services. In PEC’s nine-county area, approximately 200,000 acres of farmland and 198,000 acres of forests are protected through private, voluntary land conservation.

Buy Fresh Buy Local

PEC’s Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign helps consumers find local products while building relationships between growers, food artisans, farmers’ markets retailers, restaurants, and institutions.

Use our Buy Fresh Buy Local Piedmont website to find farms, grocers, caterers, restaurants, CSAs, and farmers markets.

The Community Farm

PEC’s Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows serves to connect area residents to Loudoun’s vital agricultural history while providing locally-grown fruits and vegetables for its food insecure population today.

Find out more at pecva.org/farm

Improving Pastures

At Bean Hollow Grassfed, Mike Sands wanted to use his training to revive Over Jordan Farm’s worn-out pastures and develop a financially stable farm model.

Learn more about sustainable pasture management in this conservation case study >>

Finding a Place to Grow

In order to help potential next-generation farmers, and non-farming landowners who are interested in leasing their land, PEC has put together “Finding a Place to Grow: How the Next Generation is Gaining Access to Farmland”, which includes eight profiles of successful farmland lease arrangements in Virginia.

The Latest

Video: Wrapping up 2020 at the Community Farm

Hugh Kenny / December 22, 2020

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 ...
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community farm volunteers packing eggplant

Farm to Food Pantry Initiatives During the Pandemic

Cindy Sabato / December 14, 2020

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 ...
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Ovoka Farm joins Piedmont Environmental Council’s Farm to Food Bank initiative with 10,000 pound meat donation

Cindy Sabato / November 18, 2020

PEC's Matt Coyle (right) helps unload ground beef at the Fauquier FISH food pantry that was donated by Karen Way (second from right). Photo by Marco Sanchez. **PRESS RELEASE** Contact:Matt Coyle, Local Food Systems CoordinatorThe Piedmont Environmental Councilmcoyle@pecva.org; 540-347-2334, x7026 FAUQUIER COUNTY, VA. (Nov. 18, 2020) - Ovoka Farm owner ...
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Summer on the Farm

Marco Sanchez / September 22, 2020

PEC's Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows welcomed volunteers of all ages back out to the farm in a socially distant manner, beginning in June, with over 300 people helping out so far! As of early September, we have surpassed our goal and donated more than 22,000 pounds of fresh produce ...
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Video: Connecting Local Beef Farmers with Food Pantries

Hugh Kenny / July 10, 2020

This video was posted to our Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram accounts on 7/10/2020. 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 ...
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