29 Nov Sustainability, Supporting the Community and Doing Good at The Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch
On Main Street in St. Helena is Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch. From a coffee in the morning to a tasting in the afternoon to a dinner at night, it’s a one-stop shop. And with it comes sustainability and health, supporting the community and doing good.
Long Meadow Ranch is a family-owned business. Ted and Laddie Hall bought their first property, the 650-acre Mayacamas Estate, in 1989. Their sons, Chris and Timmy Hall, as children, planted the first organic vegetable garden on the property and spent their weekends caring for the vegetables and eventually selling them at a booth at the St Helena Farmer’s Market. This organic vegetable garden inspired Chris’ philosophy of responsible farming and building the vertically integrated agricultural business that Long Meadow Ranch is today.
The integrated agricultural business is a concept the Hall family calls Full Circle Farming. It is an organic, sustainable, integrated farming system that relies on each part of the ranch to contribute to the health of the full operation. They use solar power and make their own fertilizers.
There is the 650-acre Mayacamas Estate home ranch, the 90-acre Rutherford Estate and the 145-acre Anderson Valley Estate. From the three estates, they grow grapes, olives and organic heirloom fruits and vegetables. And all of the products produced from the estate, including wine, olive oil, jams, barbecue sauce and more, can be found at the Farmstead. And, the beef served in the restaurant, as well as sold at the farmers market, is from the ranch.
The Hall family supports the local community. They are focused on protecting the agricultural land through land trusts. And, they donate fees to different beneficiaries each month through their “corkage for community” program. For locals, as well as visitors, if you bring a bottle of your own wine into the restaurant at the Farmstead, you will be charged only $5 corkage. And the fees from the corkage are donated to a different beneficiary each month. To date, the Hall family has donated more than $200,000 to local nonprofit organizations.
The most important foundation the Hall family started is the Timothy Hall Foundation. Founded in memory of their son, Timothy Hall, and honoring his love of agriculture and music, the foundation has been dedicated to supporting innovate, cost-effective kindergarten-12th grade school programs in arts and sciences.
There is something very satisfying in visiting and spending money at a business that cares so much about sustainability and the community around them.
Read the original story in the Napa Valley Register.Discover more from Please The Palate
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