Feed Your Soul’s sixth annual farm tour takes place Sunday, September 15. The tour departs from the city at 9 a.m. and will venture to the Niagara region where a diverse variety of fruits and vegetables can be grown based on the area’s geology, soil makeup, and many microclimates. The trip will include visits to Singer Farm Naturals in Appleton, T-Meadow Farm in Lockport, as well as LynOaken Farms and its sister, Leonard Oakes Estate Winery, in Medina.
Singer Farm Naturals raises over sixty types of garlic and is well recognized for its popular line of dried fruits. Guests will enjoy a tour of the farm’s award-winning sustainable Legacy Farm, sample some of the farm’s products, and hear about the many benefits gained from consuming garlic with expert Tom Szulist.
T-Meadow Farm is recognizable to many WNY foodies, their name is on menus of several area restaurants. Farmer Rich Tilyou and his family raise heritage breed pigs on open pasture, and the rich, flavorful meat is prized by chefs. The tour group will walk the fields with Rich and learn about the importance of preserving heritage breeds and raising them outdoors, naturally.
LynOaken Farms is a generational family farm which occupies several acres in Orleans County and is known for its lush and beautiful u-pick apple orchard.
In recent years, the addition of a vineyard has allowed them to produce award-winning estate-grown wine under the mantle of Leonard Oakes Estate Winery. Guests will tour the winemaking facility, experience a wine tasting with winemaker Jonathan Oakes, and visit the family’s stunning apple orchards.
Chef Bruce Wieszala of Tabree will prepare a fresh and hearty lunch from locally sourced ingredients and guests will dine in the orchard.
The weather forecast for the day looks great! What better time of year to enjoy the beauty of our region, learn of its remarkable growing abilities, and meet a few of the talented farmers responsible for nurturing its bounty?
Feed Your Soul’s 6th Annual Foodie-to-Farm Tour
Sponsored by Lexington Co-op
Sunday, September 15 from 9am-5pm
Photos by Nathan Peracciny:
Farmer Rich Tilyou speaks with guests on Feed Your Soul’s farm tour in 2010
The rolling orchard paths at LynOaken Farms
Jonathan Oakes is the winemaker at LynOaken Farms’ sister operation, Leonard Oakes Estate Winery