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

Spring Update from the Community Farm

Hugh Kenny / March 25, 2021

Our third season at the Community Farm is underway! Dana and Pete have already planted more than 12,000 seedlings in the greenhouse and are hard at work preparing the outdoor beds. All of the produce grown at the farm will be donated to Loudoun Hunger Relief. There will be many ...
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We Hope You Can Join Us

Kendra Atkins / March 3, 2021

The following announcement was sent out via email. Sign up for PEC email alerts>> Dear Supporter, March is our Membership Month, a time of year when we celebrate our current members and encourage others to join or renew! I’d like to take a minute this week to highlight three upcoming ...
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red barn farmland photo by patricia temples

Action Alert: Protecting Farmland Now and For the Future

Dan Holmes / January 27, 2021

Support: 97 #2h - Farmland Preservation Fund Patron: Delegate Wendy Gooditis For much of Virginia’s history, land devoted to farming and forestry covered most of the state. However, Virginia saw a significant loss of farmland in the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st century, including a ...
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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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