Recently two container farms have been added to a gravel lot at 1001 S. Loudoun St. in Winchester. John and Ann Fox of Fox Urban Farms have been planting the seeds to get Winchester’s first urban farm up and running.
Currently, the couple is focused on growing greens. The first harvest should be ready by February. So far, they have planted several types of romaine lettuce, bib lettuce, iceberg lettuce, spinach, radicchio, and basil. They plan to grow other vegetables and can intersperse a variety of crops on the panels.
“It’s just John and me,” she says. “We can pick it up the same day we sell it. No water ever touches the leaves, so the plants hold their natural oils. The lettuce tastes and feels different. It’s buttery.”
The Foxes are intentionally located in downtown Winchester in order to provide accessibility to the freshest produce possible to city residents. I want it for my family and for others’ families too,” Ann says. She and John know a thing or two about feeding people. The couple has four sons.
The Foxes have several ways they will be selling their produce. Customers will be able to buy a CSA (community-supported agriculture) crop box subscription for their households or preorder produce online. Fox Urban Farms also will be supplying some local restaurants with freshly harvested goods. In addition, John says they hope to develop a small version of a farmer’s market on Saturdays where customers can shop for items a la carte. And to make sure it is accessible to all, they will accept EBT and SNAP.
Beyond retail sales, the Foxes are going the extra mile to communicate with city nonprofits and Winchester Public Schools to understand how they might help those entities get fresh food to people who might not have access to it.
Source: VA Chamber