Mark Dornstreicht / Branch Creek / Zone 7 One of the great - TopicsExpress

Mark Dornstreicht / Branch Creek / Zone 7 One of the great pioneers of organic specialty crops is gone. Though we did not get to see each other very much over the past ten yeas, I considered him a great frien. Farms, Customers and Friends: It is a sad day at Zone 7. Yesterday, surrounded by all of his family, Mark Dornstreich of Branch Creek Farm passed away. For those of you unfamiliar with him, Mark and his wife Judy were instrumental in the creation of Zone 7. For 32 years, Mark and Judy founded and operated Branch Creek Farm in Perkasie, PA and in addition to growing some of the most beautiful and flavorful vegetables, they pioneered baby vegetables, microgreens and the Farm to Table movement in Philadelphia. Over their career, they sold to the finest restaurants in the Greater Philadelphia area - not only because the products were the freshest, locally-grown products, but equally important, because they were the best products. “Our golden rule of work is to do the highest quality that you possibly can achieve,” said Mark. “It was really a beautiful thing to meet the chefs early on, who really found interest in us from the start. We were not just harvesting greens, we were harvesting greens for Susanna Foo. It’s the people and the sublime relationships that make it important. In January 2008, as Mark and Judy entered the twilight of their career, they invited me out their house for dinner. They wanted to pass on what they had learned, in an effort to further develop a local, sustainable food system. They said, Distribution is the missing link and we think youre the person to do. Well advise you, well loan you our refrigerated truck for the 1st year, and weve even got a name - call it Zone 7. Zone 7 was first envisioned at their Pennsylvania farm table. For this and all of Mark and Judys generosity, we here at Zone 7 are forever grateful. I am very sad today, but also so very, very proud to carry on Marks legacy (and love affair with vegetables) through Zone 7. Below is information about the funeral of Mark Dornstreich, links to articles about his life and work, and an excerpt, On Work, by Kahlil Gibran. To learn more about Mark, Judy, and Branch Creek Farm, here are two links to great articles from 2011: articles.philly/2011-03-24/entertainment/29181856_1_chefs-dan-barber-blue-hill (on their career & retirement) wildriverreview/SPOTLIGHT/So-You-Want-To-Be-An-Organic-Farmer/Elizabeth-Bako/Apr-10 (the story of a family and farm, as told by Judy)