March 29 would have been Slow Food First Coast’s Tour De Farm for 2020. Like many many events, the Tour was canceled due to the coronavirus. While there is a plan to reschedule, I hope the spirit of the event will continue.
Here is a clickable link list of farms and some of the vendors they were planning on having on hand. All listed are wonderful resources and should be supported if you can. As a volunteer for the event, I got to visit each one and feel in love with all of them. There are no enough superlatives to describe the care, love and hard work that goes into being a farmer.
North Tour:
Congaree & Penn: In addition to their chef offerings, the well-known farm was going to host Bee Friends Farm, Manifest Distillery, and the Jax Humane Society.
Down To Earth: Offerings at this lovely farm were to include treats from Community Loaves and workshops from Native Plant Society and Bee Grateful.
Eat Your Yard: At this cool spot, Rue Saint Marc and 1748 Bakehouse were meant to provide a taste of the farm with beverages from JP’s Coffee and fun with WildCrafters, A New You Raw, and Sally’s Soap.
Juicy Roots: This sweet family farm was going to host Gnarbucha, Little Black Box Baked Goods, Karma Acres Honey, and Castirongrit Creative. Yoga for Change was also planning a few free classes.
Traders Hill: At the aquaponic farm with picture-perfect lettuce, samples were to be prepared by Southern Roots, along with That Coffee Chic drinks on site. Activities were to include a hayride and music from local favorite Boulougne Bluegrass Banjo Band.
South Tour:
Backyard Buffalo: This unique farm was going to host Wainwright Dairy, Intan’s Kitchen & Baker as well as highlight the work being done by Dig Local Network.
BEAM: Grace’s Garden, started to bring fresh produce to those in need, was going to offer samples provided by their in house nutritionist and have a tent for The Fish Company offering more substantial fare.
GYO Greens: GYO had so much great stuff in store it’s hard to list it all but some of the highlights include vendors Son & Skye mushrooms and Verdes Plant Based as well as informational projects with Beaches Go Green and Waste Not, Want Not.
Peace of Heart: Another beautiful non-profit farm, with funds going to support the group home for autistic women, was planning on partnering with their sponsor, Natural Life, for crafts as well as the Latin Soul Grille food truck. Their in-house Chef Daniel also had some tasty samples he was prepared to share.
Other sponsors for the event included Biscottis, bb’s restaurant, Edible Magazine and The Volen Group. For up to date information about the farms check out their webpages including facebooks and instragram. For more information about the Tour De Farm and Slow Food click here.
