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Join LEAP's small but mighty team. We are hiring a Director of Administrative Services. LEAP is looking for someone to apply their skills in administration and management to a mission-driven organization that is in an exciting phase of growth.
Read MoreAs 2021 draws to a close, LEAP wants to say a huge thank you to everyone who has shopped at a market, purchased a farm share, made a donation, or supported LEAP in any way. As a nonprofit, we depend on the generosity of our community in order to thrive.
Read MoreAcross the Roanoke region, there are beautiful spaces, side lots, donated land, tended beds -- all manner of places designated as community gardens.
Read MoreAn expanded food hub, a farmers market just outside the door, a community gathering area, a small retail space selling fresh food in the West End, office space upstairs, room to park delivery vehicles, and the potential to positively impact a neighborhood we care deeply about. This is what 1027 Patterson Avenue means to LEAP.
Read MoreWhat grows in our region? What do the terms "artisan" or "naturally grown" mean? What is a CAFO? There's a wealth of information about local, sustainable food. Here are a few resources to help you dig in to this complex topic.
Read MoreWhat is "local food" and why should you go out of your way to eat it? These are foundational questions to the work LEAP does. Read on for an explanation of how local food promotes healthier people, more resilient communities, and stronger economies.
Read MoreI spend a good amount of my non-existent free time at Bramble Hollow Farm in Montvale where our good friends Brent and Anna Wills raise heritage hogs and meat chickens on pasture. When I first moved to Virginia, after having spent the previous two seasons living on a farm, I needed a way to get my farm fix.
Read MoreWhen husband-and-wife farmers Adam Taylor and Elizabeth Spellman were looking for farmland, access to a spring was a priority. Having lived in coal country in West Virginia, they lacked access to drinkable water and drove an hour one-way to fill-up and stockpile spring water. “We love spring water,” the pair effuse. “It’s the best you can drink.”
To hear Anna and Brent Wills tell their story, you’d think they were accidental farmers. And they kind of were. But 17 years later, after pouring their passion and dedication into raising layer chickens and heritage breed pastured poultry and pork at Bramble Hollow Farm, and being one of the original vendors of the Grandin Village Farmers Market, being farmers is very much a part of their identity.
It’s always nice to be invited back, isn’t it? Such was the case for Andrew Kingery of Folklore Ferments, who, one Saturday in June was called to fill in for the bread vendor at LEAP’s Grandin Village market. Market goers couldn’t get enough of his sourdough boules and baguettes and requested that Kingery return.
Photo courtesy Rivenwood Gardens By Layla Khoury-Hanold Between the two of them, farmers Christine Mann and Corey Hamza have experience farming in California, Oregon, and New Zealand, but it took moving to Franklin County to find a farm to call their own. This year, Rivenwood Gardens made their Grandin Village Farmers Market debut, and the couple have made Virginia home. Initially, the pair looked for land on the West Coast, but it was too expensive (to say nothing of the challenges with irrigation).
Try this tasty vegan soup for a warm-up on a cold winter's night.
Get RecipeLEAP Kitchen Manager Jeff Bland has been making this recipe for more than 20 years. In addition to the squash, the onions, broth, cream, and honey can all be sourced locally.
Get RecipeThis recipe couldn't be more simple -- or tastier. Stir it together for a quick side or toss it atop a grain bowl.
Get RecipeHere’s a tasty and easy sounding recipe from Bon Appetit. Use the shallots in your share in place of the garlic and enjoy the heightened flavor your ginger gives this sauce.
Get RecipeIf you aren’t familiar with this Irish dish, it might just become your new favorite way to eat cabbage. (See the notes for a turnip version, as well.) This is tasty comfort food all the way, sure to warm you on a cold winter’s night.
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