Keeping it Fresh and Greene
Local farms provide natural nourishment for county residents
Stoneledge Farm owners passionate about delivering healthy foods
By Pamela O’Brien
As a young mom of four children, Deborah Kavakos was aware of the importance of feeding her family the freshest, highest quality, organic food that she and her husband could provide. It’s just that most parents don’t start their own farm to do so.
Although initially they raised their own livestock and organic vegetables for their family, in 1996, Deborah and her husband Pete Sr., took a major leap by opening Stoneledge Farm, a fully registered organic farm and Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, in the lush pastoral surroundings of the Northern Catskill Mountains in Greene County.
“Deborah was always passionate about feeding her children the best, freshest, nutritious food they could,” Candice Kavakos, Deborah’s daughter-in-law, said. “They never had anything store-bought, she made everything from scratch. They raised everything that she fed her kids.”
Early on, the couple gave a shot at fiber farming, raising sheep for wool, but everything pointed to vegetable farming. Along with the wool, the couple would also bring to market organic vegetables grown in Deborah’s small backyard garden. Candice said the veggies would fly off the shelves and very quickly, the Kavakoses knew they had to change their focus to farming vegetables.
Today, Stoneledge Farm has grown to encompass the original 50-acre farmstead with its renowned, “stone ledge,” three heated greenhouses and woodlands at the base of the Northern Catskill Mountains in South Cairo, NY. An additional 250-acre farm fields and main barns are situated nearby on prime agricultural land adjacent to Catskill Creek, in Leeds, NY. It doesn’t get more idyllic than the lush green farm fields with the mountains and woods as their backdrop.
Stoneledge Farm has welcomed their third generation with the arrival of three of Candice and Pete Jr.’s children, Emma, Grace and Peter III, who accompany them in their farm tasks. By all accounts, Emma, the eldest, is an outdoorsy little girl who loves to clean up trash by Catskill Creek and take care of the fish.
In total, the 300-acre farm boasts 1,200 CSA members and the Stoneledge Farm Store is stocked with an array of nearly 100 local artisan products, including honey, olive oil pasta, specialty vinegars and milk, pasture-raised meat, fish, breads and woolen goods, along with their certified organic produce. Seasonal hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays.
From the beginning, Stoneledge operated as a CSA. While attending a meeting at the food equity and justice organization, Just Food in NYC, Deborah met Bonnie Webber. That introduction would change the trajectory of Stoneledge Farm. Together, Webber and Deborah formed the Carnegie Hill CSA in 1996, becoming one of the first in NYC, and the very first CSA member of Stoneledge Farm. Today, Stoneledge Farm’s driver is delivering to 26 pick-up locations within about a 100-mile radius which includes not only the Hudson Valley, but New York, from Albany to the burrough of NYC and Connecticut. Candice points out it’s no small feat to maneuver a truck in and out of Manhattan.
The merits of a CSA to the environment, consumers, community and the farmers are vast. These community-driven partnerships foster sustainable agriculture and support local farmers. CSA farms work in a regenerative way to produce the freshest, highest quality food and soil by working organically and at fair prices. Also, Candice pointed out that members get a broad variety of veggies and actually know where their food originates, who grew it and how. And because the food isn’t shipped from overseas, organic CSA is healthier for the environment. But also, the risk is shared between farmers and members, who pay for their share at the beginning of the 22-week season between June and November.
Stoneledge Farm CSA ensures that the members will be receiving a variety of sun-ripened, fresh, seasonal vegetables and herbs, weekly. Vegetable shares come in two sizes: full share for a family, which includes eight to ten vegetables and an herb ($695), and small share for one to two people, which includes four to six vegetables and an herb per week ($485). Candice explained that since the pandemic, veggie shares come pre-boxed like a present, giving the weekly pick up a little artisan touch.
Once part of the regular vegetable share, members can opt for the myriad optional shares including: Mushroom Shares, Bread Shares, Fruit Shares, over 18 weeks, Coffee Shares which is not only fair trade and kosher, but also organic (important because coffee is one of the most heavily pesticide-/herbicide-sprayed crops) and Dried Bean Shares.
Stoneledge Farm is also charitable throughout their community spread across New York and parts of Connecticut. For every ten boxes of food sold, they give away one every week, with each individual pickup location choosing their charity. In addition, their donations to their local food pantry calculate to 150,000 pounds of food per year.
Of the elder Kavakos children, only Pete Jr. chose to return to the farm and help his parents after studying plant sciences. Since marrying Pete Jr. in 2015, you might say, Candice was swept into the family farm.
“We needed more hands on deck. So, in 2017, I left my full-time job to work side-by-side,” Candice said.
Like Deborah, Candice is passionate about healthy food and specifically about educating customers on the finer aspects of organic foods and farming.
“It’s all about education. And I am always educating,” she said.
Although Deborah and Pete Sr. still work at the farm and are owners, Pete Jr. and Candice are taking the leadership roles, yet getting help from the supportive staff, who are all like family.
Stoneledge Farm, 145 Garcia Lane, Leeds, NY.
www.stoneledge.farm 518-819-9966
