Local Economy
In 2015, Hawthorne Valley purchased $6.5 million in goods and services; more than $2.25 million of that, or 35% was spent within a 30-mile radius of our campus in Ghent, NY; and, $3.5 million was spent within 120 miles, supporting over 700 businesses.
Nearly 40% of the businesses Hawthorne Valley purchases from fall within 30 miles of the farm.
Blue Star Farm
Denison Farm
Double Decker Farm
Et Cetera Farm
Grand Gorge Garlic and Maple
Grindstone Farm
Honeydog Farm
Liberty Farms
Threshold Farm
Thompson–Finch Farm
Stewardship Farms
Rock City Mushrooms
Perelandra Farm
MX Morningstar Farm
Farm at Miller's Crossing
Mettabee Farms
Our farm store carries hundreds of value-added products – handmade soap, maple syrup, smoked fish, and more – from more than 115 independently-owned regional producers.
Outreach + Training
In 1972, Hawthorne Valley’s Place Based Learning Center pioneered holistic on-farm education for urban students, and in the decades since has hosted many thousands of children for week-long farm learning immersions.
Since 1972, nearly 26,000 children have spent a week or more living and working on the farm through our Visiting Students Program and summer camps.
Hawthorne Valley pioneered modern on-farm apprentice training throughout the 1970s and helped start the first Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT) in 1994 – now a national network with over a dozen regional hubs.
Approximately 150 apprentices have trained as farmers at HVA and nearly all remain in farming and food-related work.
The Institute for Mindful Agriculture works with local partners to address local food system needs through the Rolling Grocer 19 and other projects, and offers an annual workshop on regenerative agriculture to about 50 people.
Since 1972, 220 interns and 580 summer camp counselors have worked with children on the farm.
Since the first graduating class of 1983, 600 students have graduated from Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School.
Each year, the Place Based Learning Center works with more than 500 students, parents and individuals from local schools and the surrounding community.