Snow Dragon Mountain Farm

By Shane Smith, Outreach Coordinator 

We arrived a little behind schedule for our very first farmer photo shoot. The farmers gave themselves a familiar wink and chuckle as we explained how we drove over the dreaded Saddle Hill Road due to the fact we were navigating to the farm by GPS.  It became immediately clear that others had relied on faulty GPS coordinates on the honeycombed back roads of Meredith hill country instead of using the directions provided on Snow Dragon’s website.  If you ever travel that road beware –it’s one of those roads that once you are on it there is no turning back as there’s no room to turn around.  Also, when you come to a particularly bad stretch of washed out road it may be required to ask your fellow travelers to exit the vehicle while you negotiate the precarious situation.  Fortunately for us, this happened only five  times.

Travel hazards aside we arrived at Snow Dragon Mountain farm to a breathtaking view (and only five minutes behind schedule).  The farm itself sits on a plateau with ridge lines that seem to drift along with the clouds that billow beneath them.  I love the fact that my carrots live here before I buy them.

Snow dragon operates completely off the grid with wind and solar power and features the only certified organic honey produced in the state.  The Co-op has sold vegetables from the farm for three years and this year the Co-op also sold vegetable starters and compost from the farm.

For more information about the farm please visit www.sdmfarm.com

Farm Photo Trip

By Shane Smith, Outreach Coordinator

Steve from Musterfield farm
 talking with Paula and Greg

 Well, Geoff, Paula, Greg and I set off for a three day adventure to photograph and video tape some of the diverse farmers and producers we feature here at the Co-op. We called it “Thirty Farms in Three Days”, although the actual number of farms we visited was twenty six.  From apiaries, cider mills and backyard hoop houses to multi generational farms, vegetable ranches and large dairies we sought to capture on film the stories of local diversity and stewardship that represents farming in New Hampshire.  Although we were exhausted by our third twelve hour day traveling long distances in a small car, I know we were all impacted in a powerful way by everyone we spent time with.  I wish you all could go on a similar trip to see the amount of dedication, spirit, intelligence, vision and hard work that goes into a running a small farm.

 The footage we gathered has multiple applications for our store.  Some of the photos are destined for the walls of the Co-op in banner form-sort of a farmer “hall of fame”, so that customers can connect a face to their purchase.  Many other photos are destined for the photo bank in our Marketing Department to be used in newsletters, blogs, podcasts and other web based applications. 

In short there were too many experiences and fascinating things we learned on this trip to list in a single blog so please return often for updates and new photos. From Farm 2 Fork.

Musterfield farm

What is Farm 2 Fork?

By Shane Smith, Outreach Coordinator


This blog will tell the stories of our farmers and producers who work and
live on the land in which they are conscientious stewards. We will look
at the politics, practices, and diversified means by which all of this work is
accomplished. The Concord Food Co-op serves as a vital link in the capital
region's community food system by initiating programs in the store that promote
local eating.

A community food system is a system in which food production, processing,
distribution, and consumption are integrated to enhance the environmental,
economic, social, and nutritional health of a particular place. From seasonal
produce offerings to local dairy and meat selections, the Co-op has forged
important partnership and relationships with our farmers in building a food
system. Our food system holds sustainability and the growth of a vibrant
local economy as  long-term goals, toward which many in our community of
members strive.

Snow Dragon Mountain Farm