#87: Meet Your Grower in May at Sang Lee Farms

Long before the word ‘organic’ pervaded the contemporary lexicon of cool, had been growing produce sans pesticides for 24 years. As food trends change and America’s penchant for good green grub is further fueled by the slow food revolution, Sang Lee Farm’s owner, Karen Lee, admits her farm has evolved also.

Lee, who’s owned Sang Lee Farms with her husband, Fredrick, since 1987, explained that up until five years ago they cultivated a 1,000 acres for their Peconic farm’s large wholesale produce business, purveying veggies to Asian markets all along the east coast.

“There is so much hardship in wholesale, “ said Lee, a Boston native who met her husband  in college and later moved to Long Island to help with his family’s farm, “ it took five years for us to move away from commercial farming to a direct–to-consumer farm. It took everything we had.”  

For Lee the biggest difference between commercial and retail farming, besides going from farming 1,000  acres with 20 plant varieties to 80 acres with 100 varieties, is the more profound connection with her customers.

 “We know the people we are feeding and its wonderful,” said Lee, who often visits the farm’s retail shop to share recipes with customers, “It is such a responsibility to grow people's food and we take that responsibility seriously.“

A farmer supplies nutrition and sustenance to families and friends which is an honor, added Lee.

In 2006, Sang Lee began offering its Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, which has since grown to include almost 200 customers, feeding program members as far away as Brooklyn. Inspired to meet more community members and connect with her organic food followers, Sang Lee now sponsors an annual open house called  “Meet Your Grower."

The May 21 event allows farm visitors to meet farmers Karen and Fredrick, peruse the greenhouses, as well as see cooking demos in the on-premise commercial kitchen. “There is something about connecting with the farm and knowing who grows your food,” added Lee.

A new treat for this season’s CSA members is the farm’s  recent collaboration with other local farms to add a little more variety to the weekly CSA booty. Briermere Farms, , North Fork Egg Farm, , as well as several other local farms are collaborating with Sang Lee’s CSA program this year.

For 26 weeks  CSA boxes will include a sweet and savory combo of ripened fruits, freshly picked greens, farm-fresh eggs, buttery boutique oysters and award-winning local cheeses, depending on the share option. 

In addition to this season’s new CSA’s options, Lee also announced that Sang Lee Farm will be producing, as well as selling it own pre-packaged line of organic dressings, dips and pestos in its retail store, something she has been working on for over a year.

Finding an organic dip for your farm fresh crudité can be a challenge. Observing NOFA New York stringent organic certification regulations, Lee is excited to offer new line of tasty and heath-minded condiments.

“There is nothing like this on the market,” said Lee who recipes are behind all of Sang Lee Farms pre-packaged hummus, dressings, stir-fry sauce and even, Kimchee.  “Because we are certified organic, I cannot use anything genetically modified, which can be a challenge. Even if finding an organic pine nut is difficult, I’m committed to organic.”

For more information on Sang Lee Farms visit www.sangleefarms.com.