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Stone Barns: a Rural Respite in the Shadow of New York CityBy Marilyn Loeser
When David Rockefeller’s wife Peggy passed away, Rockefeller and his children began exploring ways to honor her memory.
“We also saw this as an opportunity to renovate an extraordinarily beautiful stone barn complex, built by my father in the early 1930s and used by Peggy in her cattle operation,” wrote David Rockefeller in his letter of dedication. Touring the farm
The livestock program is built on the same environmental-foundation. Many of the farm products are offered on the menu at Stone Barns’ restaurant Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Blue Hill Café. Surplus crops are sold at farmer's markets and other food outlets. Blue Hill at Stone Barns is known for offering menus designed around seasonal ingredients, creating an exciting dining experience that brings together resources from Stone Barns and other Hudson Valley farmers. Open Wednesday and Thursday 5 to 10 p.m.; and Friday through Sunday 5 to 11 p.m. For reservations call 914.366.9600. Blue Hill Café offers light snacks and farm fresh lattes, plus jams and pickles to take home. Open Wednesday through Sunday 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If you go:The Center is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture is located at
630 Bedford Road, For more information check the website at www.stonebarnscenter.org. |
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To
someone raised on a farm, the popularity of Stone Barns Center for Food and
Agriculture in Westchester County, NY, may seem perplexing. But factor in its
close proximity to New York City, add the environmentally sound way animals and
crops are raised here and top it off with the fact this is part of the
Rockefeller family history and you soon begin to understand — and respect — this
destination.
Because of Peggy’s love of the land, and her devotion to
farming and farming communities, they decided to create a center where ways to
improve farming and agricultural policy could be explored.
Stone
Barns’ mission is to demonstrate, teach and promote sustainable, community-based
food production. The 80-acres of gardens, pastures and woods is easy to explore
and guests can choose to wander about on their own, taking in the beauty of the
area and its animals, or join an organized tour to learn more about the inner
workings of the farm where animals and crops are raised in balance, working in
partnership with the environment.
Crops
are produced using crop rotation, compost and manure is used to enrich the soil,
and other environmentally acceptable measures are used in lieu of chemical
fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides.