Happiness Is A Pizza Farm

Eating  out at a farm may not be everyone's first choice for a dinner. Add pizza and then the idea becomes intriguing and definitely appealing. It's not a new concept but it's gaining a tremendous amount of popularity, especially during this time of social distancing. It's a fun concept and a healthy one too, with the ingredients grown right there.

Regular contributor Julia Moskin, wrote about them in today's New York Times Food section.Pizza farms are mostly a Midwestern concept.It started along the Wisconsin-Iowa border two decades ago. The  credit goes to  Ted Fisher and Robbi Bannen of the A  To Z Farm in Stockholm, Wisconsin who create the first pizza farm.(sadly they shut it down due to the pandemic) Other farms started to build wood fired ovens along with studying the basics of crust, sauce and cheese. Before long they were serving pizzas on summer nights.The pies are usually the only items on the menu. They don't offer garlic knots or calzones as other pizzerias do however there is a variety of season toppings. Spring brings baby onions and red peppers while August gives zucchini, fried eggplant and red pepper. Thanks to the other ingredients such as wheat and tomatoes, the farms are also a model of sustainability. This idea is spreading to other parts of the country too. The only problem is the season ends in September. Some farms could extend the season if the weather remains warm along with having enough stores for more flour and sauce.

There are farmers who are determined to do such. The pandemic has led to blockbuster bookings and many are not deterred by falling temps. Also the farmers are also expanding their culinary skills. Many are  raising cattle for cheese and pigs for meat toppings too The popular Iowa Margherita pie at Luna Valley Farm in Decoarah Iowa has farm made Italian sausage that the owners Tom and Maren Beard made themselves along with the homemade cheese and sauce. The basil also is grown there. The only imports are the alcohol and soda which come from local makers, Many pizza farmers see themselves as activists and teachers too. There are educational sites at Katchkie Farms the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley California and the Yale Farm at Yale University, New Haven Connecticut. They have taught not only about making pizza but also about diverse, local and sustainable agriculture. Other farms such as Amber Waves in Amangansett, New York, by the Hamptons, teaches kids the value of nutrition when they teach pie making. Kids make their dough balls and then wander out in the garden to look for fresh picked toppings. As one of the owners  , Katie Baldwin who owns the farm with Amanda Merrow, puts it "Once a cherry tomato is on a pizza it's no longer a vegetable but a topping."

Pizza farms are a great way of enjoying America's favorite food along in a fresh air environment. It's freshly picked and  hand made ingredients served in a beautiful setting. It's an idea that should catch on across the country.