Annual Report 2020

Dear Friends,

Like so many, we at Stone Barns learned a tremendous amount through our experience reckoning with the pandemic and social injustices that were laid bare during 2020. This reflective time provided an opportunity for us to examine our assumptions about the ways we work, about our ambitions for a renewed food culture, and about our role in bringing about the change we hope to see—and we made necessary programmatic pivots to meet these challenges.

Within weeks of shutting down our normal operations in March, we partnered with Blue Hill to launch resourcED, an educational initiative to support local farmers, food-insecure neighbors and our broader community through take-home food boxes when local restaurants had shuttered.

Through resourcED we conducted a survey of independent farmers to learn about how they were coping with the pandemic, and as a result launched Harvest Corps in partnership with WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms). This program connected out-of-work culinary professionals and students to volunteer opportunities on farms so they could use the time to dig into their relationship with food.

We kept the conversation going between cooks, farmers and others across the world through the Kitchen Farming Project. What started with three Blue Hill cooks in small garden spaces at Stone Barns grew to a global phenomenon with 4,000 novice gardeners signed up in nearly 80 countries, who followed along with our farmers’ advice throughout the season and shared their own stories on Instagram through the #kitchenfarmingproject hashtag.

We conducted these new initiatives while learning how to work with a partially remote team, launching virtual versions of iconic programs like the Young Farmers and Cooks Conference, and pushing ahead on our efforts to measure the ecological impact of our agricultural work and to make delicious, nutritious varieties more accessible across the Hudson Valley community.

We’re proud of the contributions we made during a challenging year, and are energized for what lies ahead: deeper connections between farmers, chefs and other culinary practitioners to bring about the sustainable, robust and delicious food system we know is within reach. Thank you for your support of our mission, and for standing by us during this time.

All my best,

Peggy Dulany

Chair, Stone Barns Center Board of Directors