Journal News Article- May 2, 2007

There's nothing like having farm-fresh food right outside your door. Especially if somebody else grows it, brings it over and leaves it there.

As of this week, Maryanne Hedrick of Peekskill can arrange that, as long as you have a computer. And a door. She'll send you the best homegrown foods she knows from the Hudson Valley and beyond through her new farmers "Web-market," MyPersonalFarmers.com.

She'll send organic tomatoes, natural beef and non-homogenized milk. She'll send whole smoked trout, risotto cakes and flavored cream honey. She'll send the food you'd grow if you had the land, the time and the patience. Or the food you'd buy if you could actually get yourself to a farmers market.

"It's really hard to find local food if you don't go to the farmers markets," Hedrick says. "And in a marketing sense, they haven't penetrated Westchester County. They can skip over us and go right into the city, where they can really make top dollar in Union Square."

So for local-hungry locals, Hedrick has fashioned a detour, in the form of a consortium of farmers-market farmers. They tell her what they've got, she lists what she likes, you order what you wish and you get it where you want. That could be your home, or your office if you don't trust the neighbors.

You can order anytime; deliveries are on Fridays and Saturdays. The minimum order is $25. There's also a $15 delivery charge, but if you join up with those neighbors, you can get a group order for up to five to one location for a single fee.

You can see what's available by checking the Web site or subscribing to the free e-mailed Weekly Shopping Guide. And you can see what's on its way by checking the site's Harvest Schedule, which lists produce from apples to turnips (so far there's nothing that starts with Z).

"I spent a great deal of time going around to farmers markets to see where the best products came from," Hedrick says. "Not just fruits and vegetables but also locally made artisanal foods. These local producers make the best stuff and yet their distribution is so limited."

Among the producers are Hepworth Farm of Milton, N.Y., which has raised fruits and vegetables for seven generations. Another is Evans Farmhouse Creamery of Norwich, N.Y., which sells non-homogenized milk and yogurt, with a layer of cream on top.

Beth's Farm Kitchen of Stuyvesant Falls makes jams with fruit cut by hand. Pika's of Big Indian makes risotto cakes from scratch. Lenny's Smoked Fish of Bearsville raises trout in a Hoop House. Hummingbird Ranch of Staatsburg sweetens the pot with syrup and honey.

The producers can not only make some money but save some, Hedrick says: "They don't have to bring anything home like they do from the farmers market. I buy just what my customers order." The plan seems to work for everybody. And David Barber says that it just might.

Barber is director of finance for the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, and co-owner of its restaurant, Blue Hill at Stone Barns. The center promotes local and seasonal food along with sustainable farming, and Barber sees Hedrick's firm as a promising ally.

"We're trying to encourage people to think about and learn who grows food in the area, and what it takes to support them," he says. "So would I rather they use this use this service than go to the A&P? Absolutely. You're sort of going to a personal shopper."

As Barber points out, the service extends the concept of community supported agriculture, or CSA. CSA members support a single farm and receive a share of everything that farm produces. Barber mentions Farm Share Ltd. of Larchmont, which is launching CSA home delivery next month.

Getting a delivery, Barber says, is not the same as buying from a farmer. "But it's a good first step to getting to know where your food comes from. It's especially appealing to people who want a broader selection and don't have time to establish relationships with multiple farms."

Hedrick, of course, agrees. "I'm a food marketer," she says. "I love all good foods, and I really got hooked on the farmers markets. I'm giving consumers a new way of getting some of the highest-quality food I've ever had. It's amazingly, remarkably delicious."