Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund December News!

It has been exactly two months since our beloved Anne Saxelby tragically passed away. But because of her great spirit and energy, there has been a tremendous outpouring of support for the Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund (ASLF)! Thank you so much for your help to get us started!

We are excited to share some updates with you before the end of the year! The goal of ASLF is to provide fully paid, one month apprenticeship opportunities on farms, similar to those that Anne engaged in during her early 20's. Like Anne herself, we have no steadfast rules but are hoping that an exchange program like this can teach young adults to appreciate the hard work of farm life, get a glimpse into a new artisan trade, learn about the importance of sustainability and being good neighbors, and incentivize apprentices to launch a business like Saxelby Cheesemongers.

We are excited to say we already have many fantastic HOST FARMS already on board including:

Honor the Earth — the brainchild of legendary Native American leader and former Vice-Presidential candidate, Winona LaDuke, producers of wild rice and maple syrup among many other foods, and fighters against pipelines and for clean water in Minnesota!

Jasper Hill Farm — great collaborators of Saxelby Cheesemongers, a working dairy farm with an on-site creamery in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and an underground aging facility that maximizes the potential of cheeses made by the creamery, as well as those made by other local producers.

Uplands Cheese Company — owned and operated by two families, Andy and Caitlin Hatch and Scott and Liana Mericka, the rhythms of their farm dovetail perfectly with the Alpine-style cheesemaking traditions where cheese is made in the summer months when the cows are out grazing on pasture. The farm’s signature cheese is Pleasant Ridge Reserve.

Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch – located in the middle of Kansas and owned and operated by Frank Reese, this farm is the last remaining in the United States with a commercial hatchery producing Standardbred turkeys and chickens that have never been tampered with by the factory farm system.

Blakesville Creamery — a farmstead goat cheese maker established in 2020 located on the shores of Lake Michigan in Port Washington, Wisconsin and led by Veronica Pedraza, a world-class cheesemaker, beer connoisseur, and Anne’s first employee at her original Essex Market shop!

Ploughgate Creamery — the brainchild and business of Marisa Mauro, a young, but accomplished dairywoman who has been making cheese and butter since she was a teenager. In 2013, Marisa won the right to purchase Bragg Hill Farm from the Vermont Land Trust, an organization devoted to preserving Vermont's working landscape.

Parish Hill Creamery — cheesemakers in Vermont who make seasonal cheeses from cows raised on rotationally and regeneratively grown pastures, and who educate, orchestrate, and advocate for the fermentation and transformation of raw milk into exquisite, natural cheese. The apprenticeship will also include Vermont Shepherd and teach the ancient art of shepherding sheep!

Spring Brook Farm — Spring Brook Farm is a traditional dairy farm located in Reading, Vermont. It covers 1000 acres and is home to 100 registered Jersey cows and a cheese operation focused on Alpine cheeses including Tarentaise and Reading. They also operate the Farms for City Kids Foundation, an outdoor agrarian classroom for kids from urban centers.

Many others farms are about to sign up as well — stay tuned for updates!

We are also in early collaboration with some amazing and inspiring organizations to connect the ASLF to Apprentices, including:

NYU Steinhardt Department of Nutrition and Food Studies — The Department’s innovative mission is to educate students, professionals, and the public about the role of food and nutrition in all aspects of life. Department faculty apply and integrate this information through undergraduate, master’s or doctoral degree programs, research, and community outreach in two distinct but related areas of study: 1) Nutrition and Dietetics and 2) Food Studies. Students gain practical expertise and critical insight focused on the relationships among human consumption, food systems, culture, and health. They are prepared for diverse careers in health care, community health settings, culinary and food industries, government and non-profit organizations, and academia.

Hot Bread Kitchen — creators of economic mobility for individuals impacted by gender, racial, social, and/or economic inequality in New York City, historically using the vibrant potential of the food industry as a pathway forward. They seek to expand skills, connections, and life-changing opportunities for talented women and small businesses.

Emma’s Torch — a not for profit founded to empower refugees, asylees, and survivors of human trafficking through culinary education. They believe in a country where refugees are welcomed as drivers of the economy and as enhancers of their new communities.

Food Education Fund — Through hands-on learning in culinary arts, hospitality, and entrepreneurship, FEF prepares and empowers the next generation of leaders through food every single day. FEF does this through a progressive suite of programming running from freshman year of high school through adulthood including culinary summer camps, a job training and internship program, a food media program focusing on food justice, a student-run coffee shop and restaurant, an accelerator program for alumni, and more.

Slow Food USA - a global network of producers and activists dedicated to good, clean and fair food for all. Slow Food exists to create a world of food that is based on caring relationships; that nourishes biodiversity, climate and health; and that builds freedom for all to live dignified and joyful lives.

We are so excited and honored to be working with these fabulous farms and organizations! They have instantly given our quest to honor Anne a platform, and for that we will forever be in their debt. We encourage you to buy their products and follow them and donate to their causes.

In other news, many of New York City’s and the country’s best chefs have generously offered to host fundraisers for ASLF in 2022 and beyond. Stay tuned for invitations to fun celebrations of Anne filled with delicious food starting early in the year! Thank you Chefs!

We are proud to introduce the ASLF logo, designed by Alexandra Hammond, artist, branding consultant, and close friend of Anne's. The logo speaks to Anne's life and work that transformed the food system in America. The infinite shape of the Mobius Strip symbolizes city and country, humans and nature, and the whole cycle of life that contains contrasts and yet is one interconnected system.

We also have a newly written Mission Statement that we are proud to share!

The Anne Saxelby Legacy Fund provides monthlong paid apprenticeships for young adults to live on sustainable farms — to work, learn, and be inspired to create change in their communities.

Our new website will be complete in January – AnneSaxelbyLegacyFund.org! We are excited to share it with you so that you may virtually visit the Host Farms and read about the activities Apprentices will participate in while there!

Please help us spread the word! You have been so generous already, but we hope you consider telling a friend about ASLF so that we can raise even more money to send even more young adults to farms this summer, in Anne’s name!

Visit SlowFoodUSA.org/Saxelby to donate!

Thank you so much for your support! Happy holidays!

Sincerely,

Patrick and the ASLF Board