Help a New York Grain Farm Rebuild from Devastating Fire

Fire damage at Cayuga's "Beanery," the facility the farm relies on to clean and process its grains and beans.

You may not have heard aboutCayuga Pure Organics, but if you're into whole grains and live in the Northeast, you may have tasted their work. The farm is a major producer of organic, non-GMO whole grains, flours, and dried beans. Those flours make their way into the ovens of esteemed bakeries like Hot Bread Kitchen and Scratch Bread; you can find their grains and beans on menus at Eleven Madison Park, Roberta's, the Spotted Pig, andmore. Their products are also in select New York groceries for retail purchase.

But the farm recently suffered a fire that has crippled its production, and unless it rebuilds quickly, it runs the risk of going under.

The image above is what's left of Cayuga's "Beanery," the facility the farm relies on to clean and process grains and beans for distribution. Until they build a new one, and obtain the $200,000+ for its construction, they're unable to get freshly harvested crops to market. In a low-margin business like specialty farming, that's very bad news.

The farm has set up acrowdfunding sitewhere you can help them reach their $238,000 goal. Their site explains what the funds will be used for in detail: electrical work, plumbing, new equipment, and the like.

"[Cayuga] has become an integral part of [New York's] Greenmarket by bringing the staple crops of grains and legumes to the market place," says June Russell, the Manager of Farm Inspections & Strategic Development at GrowNYC. "With only four years under their belt, they have accomplished a great deal. The barn fire is a setback, but it gives [Cayuga] the opportunity to build back stronger than they were before."

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