Rhododendron Café

Gothberg Farms is small, farmstead goat dairy about 2 miles south of us here at The Rhododendron. They have been making quality, small batch goat cheeses for our community for almost 7 years now. They raise LaMancha dairy goats and produce all of their own milk which all goes into the cheese.

The goat herd is small, usually only about 22 milking goats per season. They are an Animal Welfare Approved farm, which helps assure you their animals are well cared for in a humane way. This certifying body demands pasture based, family farms. Just one more step in their insistence on quality at every turn.

Clean, fair, delicious, and nutritious-that is what motivates team at Gothberg Farm. We hope you enjoy their cheese as much as we enjoy perparing it for you.

Samish Bay Cheese is owned and operated by Suzanne and Roger Wechsler. They have a great crew to help them, including Jim Morgan, who has been with them since the beginning. Samish Bay Cheese farms 200 acres in the northwest corner of Skagit County, Washington. The centerpiece of the farm is their organic dairy where they make the cheese. They maintain a mixed herd of Jersey, Milking Shorthorn, Dutch Belted and cross-breeds. The heifers (females) are raised to milk for the cheese and yogurt. The males (steers) are raised for beef.

Surrounded by Samish Bay, the Chuckanut Mountains, and the grass-green fields of the Skagit/Samish valley, the farm is in an environment well suited to organic farming. Animals are raised from birth on 100% organic feed. They are out to pasture except when the fields are too wet. Samish Bay sells its cheese, yogurt, and meat in a shop on the farm and at farmers markets in Seattle and northwest Washington, and at selected west coast retailers. Samish Bay Cheese is certified organic by the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

As artisian cheesemakers, their cheese receives the hands on detailed attention that only a quality-conscious, small-scale operator can provide. Cheese is made year round, and you can taste the seasonal variations in the cheese. They are farmstead cheesemakers, which means the cheese is made on the farm, from the milk of their own herd. The milk is always fresh and we, at the Rhodendron count on its quality.

The market for local food in the Puget Sound region is stronger than ever, expanding opportunities for small and mid-scale producers in both urban and rural settings. Increasingly however, these producers, consumers, and others who care about local food are realizing that farmers’ markets, CSA’s and one-to-one relationships with restaurants are not enough to create a stable and sustainable regional food system. A 2006 study found that the lack of an efficient small-scale distribution system attuned to the needs of the producers and consumers in the Puget Sound Region is preventing an increase in local production for local consumption.

The mission of the Puget Sound Food Network (PSFN) is to increase the production, distribution, and consumption of regionally produced food. Created and managed by the Northwest Agriculture Business Center (NABC), the Puget Sound Food Network project:

• Helps foster a regional food system that supports local agriculture and provides healthy foods to local communities comprised of 12 counties of Northwest Washington
• Helps to develop customer relationships with institutional and community meal site buyers in South King County’s low-income, refugee, and immigrant communities through CDC Funded CPPW Farm to Table Program
• Facilitates personal connections for small farmers who would like to market their products to a small scale aggregator
• Increases access to locally produced products throughout the region by widening the sphere of influence in the business community
• Enhances the economic viability and sustainability of family farms by providing innovative, and multi-layered marketing channels- helps producers achieve a more secure revenue stream
• Fosters communication between agricultural producers, food processors, distributors, retailers, restaurants, and other participants in the Puget Sound regional food system, and facilitates food-related transactions

The Puget Sound Food Network allows farmers and other food producers to:

• Communicate conveniently and directly with buyers or with the assistance from a PSFN Account Manager.
• Locate processing, distribution, and storage facilities in the Puget Sound area
• Coordinate with other regional producers with like needs (bottles, boxes, farm supplies, etc.)
• Expand their farm businesses customer base and achieve business goals. Match making right sized producers and customers for sustainable economic growth
• Consolidate products with other producers to meet growing consumer demand and potential delivery requirements (i.e. Skagit and Seattle Wholesale Markets launched in 2010).
• Network with other producers to decrease overhead through mini-trade shows targeted to high volume buyers.

Aaron Luke & Carolyn Goodrich
4991 Chuckanut Drive
Bow, WA 98232
360.820.0143
aaron@aslans-how-organics.com

Certified organic 10 week CSA. Our season is July 17th through September 25th. EBT/SNAP (food stamps) are accepted. Freshly harvested organic produce for 2 adults available for Sunday farm pick up. We are interested in serving marginalized communities and accept food stamp recipients. Organic produce is also available on a limited basis for small scale retail and wholesale purchase (we currently sell to the Rhododendron Cafe and Tweets.) We also have fresh free range organic fed eggs from our happy chickens and a collective farm with three additional families. Seasonal roadside farm stand on scenic Chuckanut Drive. CSA application on our website.

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