Macaroni and cheese, pulled pork and collard greens from Mama Lo's Barbecue in Great Barrington sit on an outdoor table in the sun. Photo by Kate Abbott

Food

Here are the Hill Country Observer’s articles about food, listed from newest to oldest. We look into local food and foodways — farms and farmers, local markets and restaurants, food security, native plants and more.

  • Issue:

    A butcher shop for local meats

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    By STACEY MORRIS Contributing writer GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. As the dinner hour approached on a recent Thursday evening, the foot traffic at The Meat Market began to increase. Some customers milled about at the front of the store, peering into glass cases for a closer look at the goods: tasso ham, a loin of roast read more

    A butcher shop for local meats
  • Issue:

    CSA movement builds communities one farm at a time

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    By CRAIG IDLEBROOK Contributing writer   EGREMONT, Mass. On a quiet road just off Route 23 is Indian Line Farm, a place where agricultural history was made. Not that you would know it. The only marking to distinguish the farm is a small sign on the mailbox. It was here in 1985 that farmers Robyn read more

    CSA movement builds communities one farm at a time
  • Issue:

    Finding fulfillment in a grass-fed flock

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    Professor’s sideline grows into full-fledged farm By TRACY FRISCH Contributing writer CLERMONT, N.Y.Jennifer Phillips’ love affair with grazing animals, and her subsequent farming career, started 10 years ago when she acquired a few lambs to mow her then two-acre yard. “I got my initial inspiration for mowing with sheep from the cover story of an read more

    Finding fulfillment in a grass-fed flock
  • Issue:

    Law targets food wastes

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    By CRAIG IDLEBROOK Contributing writer RUTLAND, Vt.Tucked away from the rows of groceries at the Rutland Area Food Co-op are five-gallon buckets with lids, filled with food scraps that most customers wouldn’t want to take home. But those buckets move out the door faster than some of the foodstuffs on the co-op’s shelves. The co-op’s read more

    Law targets food wastes
  • Issue:

    From the woods to the fields

    By STACEY MORRIS Contributing writer GREENWICH, N.Y. For Chris Lincoln and Tammara Van Ryn, a return to New York after several years living in New Hampshire meant not only returning to their roots, it meant the realization of a longtime dream.  For a dozen years, Lincoln was doing consulting work in forestry while Van Ryn read more

    From the woods to the fields
  • Issue:

    Activists push new strategy on biotech crops

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    Vermont labeling law stalls as attention shifts to California By TRACY FRISCH Contributing writer On an April weeknight in Montpelier, the Vermont House Agriculture Committee held a public hearing on a bill to require labeling of foods containing genetically engineered ingredients. To the surprise of even the bill’s supporters, more than 400 people showed up. read more

    Activists push new strategy on biotech crops
  • Issue:

    Family’s sideline grows into full-time farm

    Roadside vegetable stand in ‘70s set stage for multi-generational business By STACEY MORRIS Contributing writer ARGYLE, N.Y. Some family businesses are planned in advance, with every last detail crafted before being put into motion; others unfold by happenstance and evolve naturally over time. The latter has been the pattern at Butternut Ridge Farm. The farm read more

    Family’s sideline grows into full-time farm
  • Issue:

    Cows giving way to sheep, alpacas

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    Tour celebrates rise of ‘fiber farming’ in Washington County By EVAN LAWRENCE Contributing writer CAMBRIDGE, N.Y. Dairy cows may predominate on the farms of Washington County, but over the past two decades there’s been a quiet resurgence in fiber farming: raising animals for their wool or fur rather than meat or milk. The transformation will read more

    Cows giving way to sheep, alpacas
  • Issue:

    Generation Organic — Young people in a high-tech age rediscover farming

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    By TRACY FRISCH Contributing writer   SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.On a cold winter night, the gathering of 20- and 30-somethings animated a large hall at the Saratoga Springs Hilton with warmth and laughter. A quick scan of the scene left no doubt that the occasion couldn’t possibly be a singles event or a high-powered business affair. read more

    Generation Organic — Young people in a high-tech age rediscover farming
  • Issue:

    Homegrown from goat’s milk

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    Kitchen science lesson evolves into skin-care business By STACEY MORRIS Contributing writer   STILLWATER, N.Y.A typical day for Hal Mayes involves making upwards of 1,200 bars of goat’s milk soap at his Saratoga County farm and manufacturing plant. Not so typical is the fact that his homegrown business regularly fields orders from virtually every continent. read more

    Homegrown from goat’s milk