The Ethically Produced Food You Need To Try

The presence (or lack thereof) of labels such as antibiotic-free, non-GMO, free-range, and cage-free on items on store shelves cart may influence your decision to drop it in your shopping cart—or not. You may even put items back on the shelves after reading some hard-to-pronounce words on the ingredient lists (try saying “caprocaprylobehenin,” an artificial fat substitute designed for use in low calorie food). Purchasing foods shouldn’t be stressful or confusing, and you should always feel confident that you are feeding your family fresh and natural foods.

That’s where Pound Ridge Organics comes in. The first and only farm in Westchester County to be Animal Welfare Approved (AWA), Pound Ridge Organics’ mission is “to connect consumers and restaurants to food that is authentic, local, clean, and ethically produced,” according to founder and CEO, Donna Simons.

As a chairman of the local chapter of Slow Food USA, Simons has educated the staffs at restaurants such as The Inn at Pound Ridge by Jean-Georges, Le Fontane in Katonah, and Momofuku in Manhattan on myriad subjects including the negative impact of factory farming and other corporate farming practices.      

Simons has partnered with local farms such as Hilltop Hanover in Yorktown Heights, Glynwood Farm in Cold Spring, and Dancing Dog Farm in Ridgefield to provide sustainably harvested food for the community.

On her two-acre farm, she raises Certified AWA laying hens and laying ducks. The local farms and suppliers she partners with produce fruit, dairy, cheeses, breads, beef, lamb, goat, pork, chicken, and turkey.

An inventory of these fresh and natural items from Pound Ridge Organics and local farms are compiled into a weekly harvest list that Simons emails to her members and restaurant partners, who then place an order for pickup by the end of the week.

The most popular items sold that are made on premise are Simons’ small-batch organic maple syrup, heritage breed chicken eggs, organic duck eggs, and raw honey.

Products can be purchased at her carriage house market; only members can shop there but membership is free and has no minimums (she just likes to know who she is feeding). Sign up for the weekly newsletter that provides a harvest and inventory list along with relevant news from the farming community.

Throughout the last few years, membership has grown to more than five hundred families (all throughout Westchester, Fairfield County, and the Bronx).

To join Pound Ridge Organics, email poundridgeorganics@icloud.com. Follow Pound Ridge Organics on Facebook and on Instagram. 

Pound Ridge Organics Food CoOp
Scott’s Corners, Pound Ridge
914.764.3006; www.facebook.com

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