Local Resources

Local sources of foods used for the 2011/2012 Dark Days Eat Local Challenge. I will be adding links and more descriptions as we go through the Challenge in December through March. The definition for local in this challenge is a 150 mile radius as the source for the product, and does not necessarily reflect the distance traveled to buy it.

Markets and Shops may not be 100% Organic, but individual vendors may be. It helps to talk to them and find out where they source.

Bread
Atwater’s Catonsville MD
Available at the Dupont Circle and Silver Spring Markets and at the cafe/store in Catonsville. In the summer, available at farmer’s markets locally.

Bonaparte Breads Savage MD
Available at the Dupont Circle Market and at stores in Savage Mill and Fells Point

The Breadery Oella MD
Available at Roots, Breezy Willow, Howard County Markets and at the store at the Bakery in Oella, just across the Howard county line.

Flour
Burnt Cabins near State College PA
Available at Baugher’s Market Westminster; Local cornmeal and buckwheat flours. Until I discovered Union Mills, it was the closest source of buckwheat and corn meal.

Rodale Institute Kutztown PA
Spelt flour from PA. Spelt is grown in Pennsylvania, one of the few grains grown in this region. Many breads baked locally use flours from the midwest, the south, and from as far away as North Dakota. For the challenge, finding local flour meant using spelt.

Union Mills Homestead Union Mills MD
Whole Wheat, Rye, Cornmeal – milled at the Homestead. An email sent to them resulted in their response that the source of all but the whole wheat was local MD and PA farms. The whole wheat came from somewhere in PA, but they were not 100% sure of the source of all of the wheat they acquired from PA.

CSA
Sandy Spring CSA Local Montgomery County based CSA management that receives their supplies from the Farm Fresh Coop centered in Lancaster PA. With 1500 members in Howard and Montgomery County MD and in Northern VA, they provide a wide variety of heirloom and conventional, all organically grown veggies. Distribution points in Howard County include the Conservancy and a private home in Hickory Ridge. This is the second year they supply Howard County.

Lancaster Farm Fresh Coop The food source for Sandy Spring CSA veggies. Lancaster Farm Fresh includes a buying club to buy all sorts of organic products including gluten free by ordering on line and picking up at your weekly CSA pick up site.

The Zahradka Farm Baltimore County family farm that sells at the Glenwood Library farmer’s market. Their winter CSA is delivered to your doorstep. Summer and Fall CSA pick up points are varied and include the farmer’s market location.

Farmer’s Markets These are the winter farmer’s markets in the Howard County vicinity. A detailed reviewed page of the summer markets will be put up once the markets open again in May 2012
Freshfarm Markets DC and Silver Spring MD
Tacoma Park Farmer’s Market

Amish Markets I have frequented these markets for years on our way to our inlaws. The Dutch Market in Burtonsville where we used to shop closed a while back and relocated to Laurel, a little outside of our normal travel area. These markets are the ones we now visit when on trips up to our family in PA, and are open year round.
Shrewsbury PA Thursday through Saturday
Lancaster PA Central Market Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays

Orchards, Produce and Canned/Jarred Items
Catoctin Mountain Orchards Thurmont MD. Bought at the source. Jams, jellies, preserves, vinaigrettes, mustards, peaches, apple products, honey

Baugher’s Orchards and Farm Westminster MD Bought at the source. Apples, miscellaneous produce, peaches, strawberries, honey, black walnuts, ice cream, plus their farm store sells other local products. Also the source for many of my herb seedlings, and where I buy McCutcheon’s products.

Quaker Valley PA Bought at the Silver Spring Market. Apples, tomato sauce, apple sauce.

Our House Farm Brookeville, MD (Formerly Sligo Creek, changing their name) Silver Spring Market. Microgreens, spinach, greens, onions. Only a vendor in Silver Spring until Christmas, then returning in spring.

Mock’s Greenhouse Berkeley Springs WV Bought at Silver Spring Market, and at Frederick Wegman’s. Bibb lettuce, heirloom cherry tomatoes. Basil, cilantro. Greens. All grown year round in high tunnels.

Breezy Willow Farm Store West Friendship MD Bought at the Farmstand. During the summer, the Glenwood Farmer’s Market is the location we go to purchase their breads, corn, fruit and herbal products to augment what we get in our CSA.

McCutcheon’s Frederick MD Bought at various locations including Breezy Willow, and Baugher’s. McCutcheon’s store is located in downtown Frederick. Fun to visit.

Toigo Orchards Shippensburg PA Bought at the Dupont Circle Market Vodka heirloom tomato sauce, bloody mary mix, salsas and honey, apples

Dairies
South Mountain Creamery Middletown MD. Bought at the Creamery during the winter, and at the Glenwood Farmer’s Market during the summer. Milk, yogurt, freshly made mozzarella, meat products, cheeses, ice cream, and much more.

Blue Ridge Dairy Leesburg VA Bought at Dupont Circle Market and Silver Spring Market. Unsalted butter, greek style honey yogurt, mozzarella, feta

Trickling Springs Chambersburg, PA Bought at The Common Market and David’s. Also available at Roots, and MOM’s. Ice Cream, butter, milk, cream.

Natural by Nature Avondale PA Bought at the Common Market. Milk and butter.

Cheeses
Bowling Green Farm Howard county MD Bought at Breezy Willow and at Frank’s Produce in Jessup. Also available at TLV Tree Farm. Cow’s milk cheeses and spreads, flavored and plain. Now selling butter.

Firefly Farm Western MD Bought at South Mountain and Dupont Circle. Goat cheeses. Available at Whole Foods and MOM’s.

Cherry Glen MD Bought at Roots. Available also at MOM’s, David’s and the Common Market

Meats
Red Apron Butchery VA,DC and MD only available at markets and shops
Bought at Dupont Circle Market. All sorts of sausages, jerkies, small packages of charcuterie. His sources here.

Gunpowder Bison Monkton, MD
Bought at Silver Spring Market. Bison osso buco. Ribs. Ground. Chili. Not cheap, but very good.

TLV Tree Farm Glenelg MD
Locally sourced from the markets and the farm. Lamb, Pork and Beef. Also sell eggs.

Woodcamp Mt Airy MD
I buy at Glenwood Farmer’s Market, or you can order on line. Pork and beef. Honey as well. Also sells at Olney Farmer’s Market on Sundays.

North Mountain Pastures Newport PA
Bought at Silver Spring, also sell at Tacoma Park. Chicken, pork, turkey, beef and lamb.

Cedarbrook Farm WV
Bought at Silver Spring. Great pork products, including hard to find items like fresh pork belly.

Wagner’s Mt. Airy MD Butcher and processor for meats, has a storefront as well as the processing plant. Buy individual items, or order packaged sides of beef or pork or lamb.

Natural Markets
David’s Natural Market Columbia MD
Roots Market Clarksville MD
The Common Market Frederick MD
Mom’s Organic Market Jessup MD

Wineries
Black Ankle Vineyards Mt. Airy MD
Boutique winery with impressive reds, and interesting whites including Albarino

Breaux Vineyards Hillsborough VA
Large beautiful site. Some Italian varietals like Nebbiolo. Cellar Club gets you wines not available to the general public. Great festivals, like the Crawfish one. Dog Days, which is fun if you have dogs. Vertical tastings, and special meals.

Linden Vineyards Linden VA
Our favorite MidAtlantic vineyard. Been collecting for twenty years. Some of the oldest wines here are still lovely. Need to become a case club member to use the members only areas of the vineyard. Small, 5000 cases. Almost all wine sold at the winery, much of it to the case club members. In essence, a cult winery on the East Coast. Strong loyal following. Makes reds and whites that hold for a very long time. Whites in Burgundian style. Reds in Bordeaux style.

Boordy Vineyards Long Green MD
One of the first places we visited years ago when gaining interest in local wines. They make lovely Chardonnays and decent reds. More of a destination winery with festivals, food events, and in a beautiful area of Baltimore County.

Glen Manor VineyardsFront Royal VA
Jeff learned from Linden. He is making stellar reds, winning the Virginia Governor’s Cup with his Bordeaux blend. His sauvignon blanc is reminiscent of the wines of New Zealand. He is expanding his plantings. His farm is on an amazingly beautiful hillside below the Skyline Drive in Front Royal.

Individually Sourced Items
Local Black Walnuts from their property, found at Baugher’s Farm Stand, Westminster MD The only commercial place I have found so far where you can get black walnuts. They are stronger in taste than English walnuts.

Local Maple Syrup from Steyer Brothers, Garrett County MD, found at Baugher’s Farm Stand. Closest produced syrup I could find to us. Most of the local ones are from north central PA.

Hydroponic Tomatoes from Hummingbird Farms Ridgely MD Bought all over the area, including grocery stores in winter. Mostly found at Roots. This is the closest source of year round tomatoes that actually taste like tomatoes in February. The cherry tomatoes are great for salads, and for roasting to use in small batch sauces in the winter.

Suzanne’s Pepper Jellies Glenwood MD Heaven, Purgatory and Hell. The three strengths of jelly. Found at Casual Gourmet in Glenwood. She also makes, and sells on line, one using ghost peppers. Way too intense for my palate.