Rappahannock Electric Cooperative donation will buy freeze dryer to preserve local produce for food pantries
A contribution from Rappahannock Electric Cooperative’s “Power of Change” giving program will help bring quality local food to residents in need.
On Nov. 1, REC representatives Casey Hollins and Tracy Woods presented Culpeper’s George Washington Carver Agriculture Research Center with a check for $5,000 to support shelf-stable food for local pantries.
Freeze drying, as described by the center’s board members, is the pinnacle of food preservation. The funding, provided by the electric coop, will be allocated towards the purchase of a freeze dryer to preserve excess produce, like apples and vegetables, for longer shelf life and higher nutritional value. The new appliance will be placed in the facility’s kitchen, which is available for rent to community members and businesses.
“Small businesses that want to start a food business or grow their food business, can rent the kitchen space by the hour. So it's a lot more affordable than trying to start your own commercial kitchen. But then we also use that space for educational events,” said Lenah Nguyen, the center’s board secretary. “Rappahannock [County] Elementary School fifth graders grew a pumpkin patch, and we were processing the pumpkins so that we can make muffins next week for their school breakfast. So we do things like that, and we combine it with food safety education.”
Nguyen is a senior family and consumer sciences extension agent serving Culpeper, Fauquier and Rappahannock counties. Her work focuses on food safety, food entrepreneurship and nutrition.
Prior to her work with Virginia Cooperative Extension, Nguyen served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru and worked as a farm hand on vegetable farms across the United States. She got her undergraduate degree from William and Mary and her Masters from Virginia Tech.
“We get a lot of requests to process excess produce during different seasons of the year,” Nguyen added. “Soon we're going to get a big apple harvest donation, and one thing that is really helpful is to freeze dry the produce so it's shelf stable for longer…Oftentimes that's an easy way to deal with the delivery of produce that we get.”
“Everything at this organization kind of feeds itself,” said Gretchen Ledmor, the center’s program director. “With harvest season, you get everything all at once. And one thing we've really realized last year was that there has to be a way to get that stuff preserved and so that it can be eaten year round.”
Growing up on a small family farm in Greene, Ledmor first learned about the food industry through her father's restaurant. She moved to Asheville, N.C., in 2010, where she was the chief operating officer at a small business with more than 90 employees and oversaw the expansion of the business into four retail locations and a large production facility.
Having recently moved back to the area, she is applying her skills to creating more sustainable food sources and deepening community connections.
Thousands of REC members give voluntarily to The Power of Change each month. Gifts can be a set monthly or one-time donation, or members can round up their bill to the next whole dollar. The funds are then granted to service organizations twice a year.
Before making their way to the George Washington Carver Agriculture Research Center, Hollins and Woods stopped by the Linus Project of Culpeper at Rhoadesville Baptist Church, located at 26042 Lafayette Dr., to present a check for $4,000 to expand community engagement.
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