Nurturing Local Freshness

Part of our sustainability philosophy -- leaving a place better than we found it -- includes our passion for sourcing things locally whenever possible. This is partly why we earned third-party sustainability certification from Green Key Global, and are part of Leading Hotels of the World's Sustainability portfolio. 

We prioritize supporting local businesses and showcasing our region's exceptional ingredients, minimizing reliance on large-scale production and transport. The metro area and surrounding states are brimming with outstanding local artisanal and organic food producers, breweries, wineries, and distilleries. One of these is Earth N Eats, a longtime vendor. Learn more about Earth N Eats from Josiah, its sales manager, below. -- The Hay-Adams 

Growing up as part of a family farm in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, I've always been in tune with the land and its ability to generate. In my youngest years, my father -- whose family's farming traditions went back generations -- was a dairy farmer, which was traditional in our region. When i was around six years old, he made the decision to switch to produce and poultry, and that changed everything. 

Our family had solid harvests and when the yield was large enough, we built a roadside stand and sold to locals and passers-by. But we realized that the richness and freshness of our foods would appeal to people well beyond our area. So, we began selling to local restaurants. That led to the formation of Earth N Eats, a farm collective whose wide range of Pennsylvania-grown produce and farm-fresh eggs and poultry is today at the heart of many dishes enjoyed at The Hay-Adams.

We started delivering to The Hay-Adams around 2016. We supply them with our farm-fresh eggs, herbs, and produce year-round. We also supply the Thanksgiving turkeys they serve at their popular Thanksgiving event.

There's a simplicity to growing things, and yet the biology of it is incredibly complex when you consider the factors involved. Unlike large, commercial agriculture operations, we don't spray our crops. We also partner with about ten other family farms and together offer a diverse (and delicious) array of foods. Storage crops like apples, potatoes, carrots, and parsnips are popular with restaurants because of their longer shelf life. 

Interestingly, at our farm, our most abundant production is that of lettuces and greens, which have delicate storage requirements. That's why we deliver to restaurants and kitchens like The Hay-Adams' kitchens, two days a week. 

Our five large greenhouses let us grow these year-round and sell several tons of lettuces and greens each month. I'm often struck by how the variety is as dazzling visually as it is in flavor. Romaine, mixed-color small-leaf butterhead, red frilly lettuces, among others. Cress, chard, bok choy, mustard greens, arugula, mizuna, and other greens. And we create mixes of some of these. 

Being part of an independent collective, we can cater to our clients. If a chef wants chestnuts, we can look around across our farms and find a chestnut tree. If we start getting requests for something new to us, like blue oyster mushrooms, for example, we can make a go of it. We pay close attention to what our clients need, and we are here for them, just like the land is here for all of us.