WRSI: Special 500th Episode

500 episodes. 10 years. In celebration of this milestone, two of the very first Local Hero Spotlight guests from 2011, Casey Steinberg of Old Friends Farm and Russell Braen of Park Hill Orchard, are invited back on to chat about what’s changed in the time since.

At Park Hill Orchard, Russel says “I’ve probably greeted over 200,000 people” coming for pick-your-own apples and #artintheorchard events each fall. Meanwhile “kids that used to come here (for PYO) now work here,” and the cider slushie following has grown.

At Old Friends Farm, they’ve adapted to get local food to people in new ways, most recently with online ordering of food from them and many other local growers. Plus they tripled in size from 5 employees to 15, AND helped kickstart a “ginger & turmeric revolution,” training many in growing these exotic crops.

How have these farms sustained themselves over 10 years? By taking care of their land, their finances, and most importantly their people – employees and customers.

What ties these two farms to each other? “The Royal Frog Ballet, a surrealist Cabaret” What’s that you say? You gotta listen to find out!

Here’s to another fruitful 10 years (and more) of connecting our community to local farms with the help of Monte Belmonte and WRSI.