Our local students have enjoyed farm fresh produce
- Victoria & Randy Rogowski
- Nov 1
- 6 min read
STORIES & UPDATES
Our work in partnering with local school systems has kept us incredibly busy this fall.
It takes a special food service director to be committed to the process. They have an incredibly difficult job, not only with meal planning, and budgeting, but also in their requirements from the state to vary the colors of the fruits and veggies they offer. Did you know they can only offer certain colors of veggies a certain number of times each week?
It's so much work to feed students, offer them tons of choices, and make sure everything is prepped and cooked. They are not required to source from local farms, but there is some grant money if they're willing to do so.
All this to say, they really go above and beyond if they choose to purchase from local farms.
CT Grown for CT Kids week is celebrated at the beginning of October every year, and it's a chance for students around the state to try products from their local farms.
The food service director in Cheshire purchased squash, zucchini, and peppers from our farm. Here's a photo snapped at one of the schools.
And if you live in Shelton, here's one from our own food service director from this fall. Richard Sandmann makes a point to serve really interesting foods as well, sourcing broccoli rabe, bok choy, kale, and more from our farm. Typically those are served at the high school.
A couple of weeks ago, we hosted a farm tour of food service directors, partnering with UConn Extension coordinators to do so. In attendance was Trumbull Public Schools and Milford Public Schools, who we currently partner with. A few others from our area also joined in, hoping to partner in the future. This was a great chance for us to open up discussion and show them how we grow.
The superintendent in Trumbull talked a little bit about this in his newsletter this week.
Maybe we are getting a little loopy at this point in the season, but I shared this on our social media this week:
We are also in our third year of partnering with the city of Bridgeport. The East End Market sources our produce and distributes it to low income residents for about 5 months out of the year. It's been a really amazing partnership and it's funded by state grant money. We are hopeful that it will continue next season but aren't sure what the future will hold for programs like this.
Nevertheless, we continue our partnership with Real Food CT to donate tons of produce each week. These are members' leftover shares plus excess produce from the prior week. If you'd like to get involved and help, please consider coming out to the farm on Saturday, November 15th from 10-11 a.m. to harvest alongside us specifically for donation.
Due to high demand, Real Food CT is asking anyone interested to register by using this link: https://realfoodct.org/eventlist.php
This week, everyone is receiving a honeynut squash.
Honeynut squash is a tiny cross between a butternut and a buttercup squash. It has an intense, nutty, sweet, caramel flavor and can be used interchangeably with butternut.
I like to cut it in half and roast it face down at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. With butter and salt, or cinnamon, it's absolutely delicious!
You're also receiving leeks this week. If you don't use the green tops in your cooking, save them with your other veggie scraps to make stock.
We're taking a hiatus from greens this week. As we move toward Thanksgiving, we'll see turnips and rutabaga make an appearance. Delicata squash will be in shares next week. And, spoiler alert: we'll be stocking CT cranberries in the store for Thanksgiving! SO many more amazing foods in our future - still 4 more weeks to go after this!
You all came through on our box request, and we are all set at this time! We'll let you know if we eventually need more to finish out our season. Thank you so much.
UPCOMING EVENTS
On Saturday, November 15th from 10-11 a.m. we're hosting a Thanksgiving "gleaning" of our fields.
Gleaning is a term that means harvesting excess produce. Join us for an hour of volunteering. You'll physically harvest alongside us specifically for donation.
Real Food CT will then deliver our bounty to local food pantries in our area.
This is a wonderful way to give back to our community! Kids are absolutely welcome - even if they only harvest one single leaf of kale, this a powerful chance to have them part of something big!
Details (including which of our locations) will be published the week before. This will be rain or shine unless conditions are dangerous.
Pick-your-own has concluded for the 2025 season. Thank you for making beautiful memories with us at The Fields at Laurel Glen Farm!
The Shelton and Monroe Farmers' Markets have concluded for the season. We're grateful to our market customers, crew member Steve, and the market managers for another great year.
STORE INFORMATION
Here is the fresh produce we plan to have in stock while supplies last (through Friday, November 7th):
Acorn squash
Arugula
Basil
Bell peppers (the last of them!)
Bok choy
Broccoli
Broccoli rabe
Brussels sprouts
Butternut squash
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery (leafy variety)
Collard greens
Delicata squash
Escarole
Garlic
Hot peppers (the last of them!)
Kale
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Mashed potato squash
Mustard greens
Napa cabbage
Onions
Parsley
Potatoes
Radishes
Romaine
Salad turnips
Spaghetti squash
Sweet potatoes
Swiss chard
Tokyo bekana
CURRENT STORE HOURS:
Monday: 10:30 to 4 p.m.
Tuesday: 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesday: 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Thursday: 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Friday: 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
VEGETABLE SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
EXTENDED SEASON WEEK 28 OF 32
(Tuesday, November 4th through Saturday, November 8th)
Share Contents (Listed approximately from shortest shelf life to longest)
Large:
1 head of broccoli
1 head of cauliflower
1 head of Romanesco
1 lb. leeks
2 lbs. of potatoes
1 sweet potato
2 honeynut squashes
1 free choice item: TBD!
Small:
1 head of broccoli
1 head of Romanesco
1 lb. leeks
1 lb. of potatoes
1 sweet potato
1 honeynut squash
1 free choice item: TBD!
Storage tips and recipes for all of the vegetables in this week's share can be located on our website, here.
Vegetable Subscription Pickup Policies
All pickups must take place within store operating hours. For many reasons, we can't leave shares outside the store. Pickup days are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.
If you need to skip your share for the week, or change your pickup day, you must provide us with 48 hours' notice for any of the options below. This is because we pack shares the day before pickup. Once your share has been harvested and packed, we can not change or cancel your pickup.
For Tuesday pickups being changed, we need to know by Sunday.
Wednesday pickups, we need to know by Monday.
Saturday pickups, we need to know by Thursday.
You have the option to choose another pickup day in a given week: we offer share pickup on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday only.
You can skip a pickup and receive a double the following week.
If you miss your pickup, we will hold your share for 24 hours after your pickup day, and then it will be donated to a local food pantry. With more members than ever before, we don't have the cooler space to hold onto shares longer than this. This is a great option if you accidentally miss your pickup - just come the next day.
You can always send a guest to pick up in your place by simply notifying us of their name.
Please send us an email to laurelglenfarm@gmail.com 48 hours before your anticipated pickup in order to make a change. You must submit your request in writing in order to leave a paper trail. This allows you to show proof to our store staff at pickup in the event that we need clarification.
If a share is picked up outside of your scheduled time (aside from an approved change) or the 24 hour holding period, you will be billed for an additional share.