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LunaGrown on WJGK Fox 103.1, November 7th, 2018

The Morning Show with Annika Sonic Guest Christopher Wilson of LunaGrown

Interview Transcript:

Annika: Fox 1031, “Good Morning Annika Sonic with you here this morning on this, Wednesday. It is 8:12 and welcoming back to the show. Yes, I say all the time, but that’s because I’m always so happy to see him. Chris from LunaGrown.

Now, first of all, Chris, welcome thank you that And now LunaGrown just to clear this up your location where you are.

Chris: Our farm is located in Wurtsboro.

Annika: In Wurtsboro. But you can’t go to your farm.

Chris: Correct. We are not open to the public.

Annika: That’s ’cause you’re busy, making delicious things. Like what we’re gonna talk about.

Chris: It is.

Annika: And he needs all of his attention. So you were here last year and we just couldn’t stop talking about your jam and marmalade. Is it marmalade or mar-ma-lard.

Chris: Lade it’s Marmalade.

Annika: Okay, is there is such a word… As mar-ma-lard. Where did I get that from a…

Chris: I don’t know I…

Annika: Okay, well, at least now I know how to say it. What have you been busy do You have some new flavors or… Let’s talk about some of your favorites. Let’s talk about some of the favorite holiday ones.

Chris: Okay, we’re coming into the holidays. So the newest one that will, it’s just gonna go very fast, is the cranberry or “Cranberry jam is made with the bit of cinnamon and some orange zest. So it’s a really nice replacement for your standard cranberry Thanksgiving. The stuff that slides out of a can… And that’s…

Annika: Which is what a lot of people think of when they think of Cranberry sauce.

Chris: This is, this is a few steps up from the quality of that.

Annika: Isn’t it weird that we call a cranberry sauce? So that’s when you get it out of the can, doesn’t look anything like sauce. And we still call It cranberry sauce. Now for people that weren’t here the first time, it’s very special. These aren’t just regular jams and jellies. You do a thing with sugar, that I… I just want you to re-tell me.

Chris: Alright. All our products are reduced sugar so they’re safer for type two diabetics or people with sugar issues or concerns per tablespoon. We run, anywhere between five to seven grams which is, it’s very low when you compare that to some of the commercial brands can be used. 25 to 40 grams per tablespoon so we try to keep it low to keep it healthy. So people get the taste and they can really enjoy it.

Annika: Exactly, I mean without all that sugar, to mask the taste really taste the certain flavors of the fruits that you use in the jams, and also the consistency is not what you usually expect from these jams and jellies.

Chris: Right, because you’re getting fruit that’s a big thing for us. The fiber in the fruit, it just makes a world of difference for your palate.

Annika: You just have to try that. Now, I know that you’ve been to food shows not food shows, but these fairs and festivals where you’ve had your jams and jellies for people.

Chris: Certainly, absolutely…

Annika: If you’ve ever seen them Please, if you ever go to anywhere you gotta taste the “LunaGrown jams and jellies. I can guarantee you’ve never tasted anything like this.

Chris: Probably not.

Annika: Because you don’t have all that sugar, in it. Does it take longer or a shorter cooking period?

It’s a different process altogether and from the government standard the FDA standard, where you’re doing 50% sugar, which is… That’s sure what they tell you and it’s a lot if you’re doing that without pectin it’s a longer cook-down time and you have to choose specifically correct, fruits, and it’s just all food science. Our process is a low sugar process, so it’s different. In fact, each of our recipes has to be filed with the state approved and then refiled with the federal government Homeland Security, and it’s a big deal.

Annika: Homeland security.

Chris: So yeah, they cover all the food in the United States.

Annika: Wow get out of here! I didn’t know that…

Chris: Oh, absolutely, yeah. All your food is covered by Homeland Security amazing.

Annika: But not just that, but the way that Chris packages things is it’s so beautiful. Please do not hesitate a good way to figure out and to kind of see what I’m talking about is the name of the… ’cause I like your Facebook page, but is it “LunaGrown is that the name of the Facebook page?

Chris: Yes, you can find us on Facebook, on LunaGrown or you can go right to the website, which is on a LunaGrown.com.

Annika: L-U-N-A-G-R-O-W-N And the reason I tell people that I’ve been… I follow you, and you’ve been showing how you’ve been making the JAMS and before and after enduring. And the photography is just beautiful.

Chris: You can thank Instagram for that.

Annika: Get out of your really… Then you have an eye for pictures because it just looks so delicious. I’m always like, When is he can finish that already is ’cause I wanna get a taste. But the labels on, on these jars beautiful. Just give this as a gift. You don’t have to worry about anything, you package it, you give little spoons with it if you do everything right, you just do everything right.

Chris: Well, you wanna be proud of your product isn’t given a gift, it’s the thought behind the gift that counts. So if you’re given it, you wanna be proud of that. I don’t care what the gift is it is a…

Annika: Well, you certainly have achieved that. Like my dad is diabetic so I can’t wait to bring this to him because he misses his sweet so much, that’s all he talks about he might be breaking the rules a little bit, but this is much better for him.

Chris: And he can ask his doctor, to make sure it works, because we have the nutrition labels on there. You can take that right to his doctor and say, well this work with my diet. Whereas if he was having some of the commercial brands the doctor would straight and tell him no… And that’s, no yeah.

Annika: So let’s talk about some of the new things that you have. The popular ones from last year, which is like everything. Red pepper jam. Alright, you… You bought me some of that last…

Chris: I did, I just…

Annika: Great, I love it. Chipotle, pepper. Or what is that?

Chris: Chipotle it’s Chipotle.

Annika: So what are the new ones for this year.

Chris: For this season? We do a vanilla Pear, we do an Apple, which tastes like apple pie and we do a raisin jam which is interesting, its full chunks of apples and whole raisins and cinnamon. So you’re getting… It’s more like a compote than it, it would be a jam. Of course, our cranberry, we do a mixed berry which is our razzleberry just raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries.

Annika: That’s one of my favorite things, and I love that.

Chris: Interestingly if you looked into the history of razzleberry jam in America, it would be Huckleberry, black caps, and whatever other berry was available at that time.

Annika: So then why do we use the ones that we use now?

Chris: Well, some of the traditional berries are kind of gross to eat, to be quite honest.

Annika: Well there ya go! I wouldn’t have thought that.

Chris: Huckleberries taste like dirt, so you need the sugar to make them taste good, and then they just kind of faded away, So I, they don’t use them anymore.

Annika: In case you haven’t got this from our conversation. They use the best ingredients, the finest ingredients because that’s what you’re gonna be tasting because it’s not all that sugar in there. They have to use all the great things because they highlight the taste.

Chris: And we do grow most of our own and what we don’t grow we get from the Hudson Valley, as many farms as we can for what the Hudson Valley produces. We can’t get Our cranberries here, but we are apples from thoughts in Valley and we grow our blueberries and raspberries. It’s good stays right here.

Annika: What about this Hudson Valley farming with this rain did that put you on behind it all.

Chris: What that did to the farmers in the Hudson Valley this year, it’s horrible, and it’s a very sad actually ’cause our farmers, of course, they feed us, but they also feed to other areas of New York. It just hurt everybody really tough. We had some damage. Not as bad because our season is different. I did read that up in the northern area by Lake Erie, they lost 35% of their grapes this year. So, 35%, that’s huge for the grape community. So you can expect wine, to go up this year a bit.

Annika: I knew we were gonna be in trouble when at the beginning of the year, I wanted to do a certain kind of gardening where you did it with hay bales and I went and I tried to get her and I couldn’t get her because of all the rain, so I knew we were gonna be in trouble with that. And that was early in the season.

Chris: Yeah, it was tough and it was interesting because from a fruit perspective, when everybody was ready to get peaches and you’re ready, you’re like, “Oh fresh peach is, This is gonna be great. You go out and get one or two. And they were a little sparse then we had that terrible rain and all the peaches grew they’re like, We had millions of peaches that had to go then and there. Otherwise, they rotted.

So it was just a very strange season altogether and was really tough on our farmers in the Hudson Valley.

Annika: Well, let’s keep our fingers crossed. You guys still got your product out. And speaking of which, getting your product out, you are now available in a lot more retailers. So why don’t you tell us about that?

Chris: We were up to, I believe 24 stores in three states. Now.

Annika: You have to check it out, please if you haven’t done it. I know sometimes I get very passionate about a certain subject and I’m definitely passionate about the LunaGrown product because it’s beautiful, it’s delicious, it’s natural, it’s healthy, and you couldn’t get a better jam or jelly. Or marmalade? Amelia. Okay, good, okay, yeah, I got it right any here? I mean, close to us in the valley.

Chris: Oh, there’s quite a few in the Hudson Valley, we’re going anywhere from Kingston down to Monroe now and everything in between, in the Newberg, area, there’s a place called Hudson Street Cafe yes, okay, well, they have… They serve us, they use our large containers and they serve and Donna also sells there.

There’s a lot of different places. Taste in New York has picked us up.

Annika: Oh good, you know, excellent congratulation they’re great.

Chris: There are a quite a few butchers just over on the other side of the river, Marbled meat shop has picked this up Campbell meats its picked us up, and what a great pairing for this time of year, you’re going in our cheese dishes and your meat dishes and it’s nice to have a fresh jam product that’s not too sweet.

Annika: The brie with the fig jam is to die for, a… It is just whatever you pay that with is delicious, but these are so good, if you serve these at your holiday parties every time somebody picks up a little bit of a way you get this, it’s unlike anything you’ve tasted before, it’s a fresh, it’s like an explosion in your mouth. I’ve always wanted to use that term is an explosion in your mouth of flavor. So, congratulations on all of your new retailers. People are all it takes is one taste.

Chris: It does, and we’ve been very lucky, we’ve been a lot of really wonderful people this year in the food industry, just to hear in the valley, Hudson Valley eats. They’re fairly new, but they’re phenomenal people and of course, all the standard magazines have been just very supportive. So we’ve had a very good run so far.

Annika: Well you work very hard to produce this product. It doesn’t just happen on…

Chris: Oh No, It takes a lot of people. You can create the best product you want, but if you don’t have the support of your community and you don’t have the supportive other business in the community, you’ll be nice to each other and you, you create something that’s gonna last you that everybody can be proud of.

Annika: So you have any events that are coming up.

Chris: Two events left for this year, we do one at Bialas farms on November, 17th, that’s there.

Annika: That’s right around the corner. That’s one day from now.

Chris: Yes, I know and we do Hudson Valley Farm and Flea at the motorcycle museum of… which is a wonderful event, and for us it’s a great way to end our season.

Annika: Do you know when Farm & Flea is gonna be happening what day?

Chris: It’s the 24th this year, it’s the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Annika: Okay, great, you gotta give her a plug. She works so hard. Also, we get to those vendors together.

Chris: Really just a beautiful event.

Annika: So what was… Just out of curiosity, in your history, what was the first event that you guys participated in that kind of started off everything.

Chris: The first event that LunaGrown did was foodstock up in Calicoon.

Annika: Hey, oh in Calicoon? I love Calicoon.

Chris: And that was, I’d never done an event before I called my dad. Come on Pops. Go do this thing with me. And a… And you learn, and you get excited. And so that was the first event and then our first farmers’ market was Goshen and we’re still with Goshen proudly.

Annika: Excellent, very good. Now, I know you have to go over to our sister station here, so wow, see, talking to you, time just flies. It’s like I’m looking here and going all five-10 minutes out. It’s been a little bit more than that. So if you’re just joining us, I’m talking to Chris Wilson from LunaGrown and “LunaGrown Jams marmalade jellies some of the most interesting flavors all with natural ingredients Hudson Valley grown products and ingredients. Now, if somebody was interested in perhaps ordering something give us all your contact information.

Chris: LunaGrown.com, they can order, they can look. There’s galleries, you wanna find us on social media. It’s LunaGrown with an N. On Facebook, on Instagram, don’t follow us on Twitter, ’cause we don’t pay any attention to that.

Annika: We’re too busy making all these delicious things of course, and it’s a beautiful Facebook page. Like I said, you’ve been keeping everybody up to date and how’s the dog?

Chris: Hank is good, hank is good.

Annika: Good, pictures of hank. People love dogs.

Chris: And the farm got a new dog Chaka so she’s good.

Annika: Oh good, I didn’t see any pictures of her.

Chris: She’s in training, right now. Oh okay, he’s good.

Annika: What do you train in? Or to do pick the blueberries remains in training.

Chris: She came from an abuse situation, so I…

Annika: So, you do everything that’s right, right? So how long does it take though? If you have an animal that’s been abused and of course, there are different kinds of abuse. I understand that was a time line.

Chris: She went from the abuse situation to a new home. So three months in the new home. And then there’s adjustments or small adjustments to be made right now. She’s in specific training to be more of an animal that goes with you all the time.

Annika: Not a service dog, kind of like a service dog.

Chris: She, she had issues with men, she came from a situation where in the little… So what kind of dog is… So a cute one. She’s a pit mix.

Annika: Aww… Pities in my favorite. You score 100 Chris on everything. Alright.

Chris: Can I mentioned, before I forget, we do ship nationwide, Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

Annika: Oh, good. ’cause people have friends that they’re difficult to buy for and they have a sweet tooth, but not to sweet… In this instance, but please give Chris in his company a look-see, and you’re never gonna look back again. LunaGrown.com, and you guys are just fantastic.

Chris: Thank you so much.

Annika: Thanks for stopping by always a pleasure. Now, you know what I’m gonna do after you leave? I’m gonna start looking forward to the next time you’re gonna be here. Thank you, Chris, Chris Wilson from Luna grown and you’re heading over to or sister station? So thanks a lot for being here.

Chris: Thank you.

LunaGrown on WTBQ August 28, 2018

LunaGrown on WTBQ August 28, 2018 2

LunaGrown joins WTBQ Scott Lask & Susan Glusica, August 28th, 2018

“Wall Street to Main Street” Scott Lask & Susan Glusica on WTBQ 93.5 FM & 1110 AM. Guest Christopher Wilson of LunaGrown Jam. LunaGrown Jam Maker joins Scott and Susan for a fun and informative interview.

For additional ideas on utilizing jam, marmalade and jellies check out our book “Beyond the Bread~ Tasteful Exploration of Jam and Marmalade” available in both Print and Kindle editions.

Interview Transcript:

Scott: Well, for all of those out there who enjoy delicious foods, we have Chris Wilson with us from LunaGrown jam and I am prefacing this by saying I’m diabetic and I could eat this stuff by the spoonful.

Okay, so I…

Chris began on LunaGrown as a home-based business in 2012 and LunaGrown currently operates a commercial kitchen on a small Berry Farm and vineyard in the Hudson Valley of New York.

All LunaGrown products utilize small batch production, which you’re gonna have to explain to us. Are Kosher certified and are a reduced sugar product, which is really great for everyone. Now Chris began his career in visual merchandising before seeking employment in the bar and restaurant industry, “This field offered hands-on experience involved the front and back-ends of the restaurant bar business and with the focus on management and culinary art he refined his skills. He has a Master food preservation certification from the prestigious Cornell Cooperative Extension and is working to acquire his better process control certification from the University of California.

He’s also a retired singer-song in this. And I play music, too. Were never retired.

Okay, with numerous recordings released, his book “Beyond the Bread” is currently in its second printing, Chris is an avid reader. He also enjoys his time outdoors, hiking, and tending the fields. His spare time is focused on agricultural studies, website development, and his dogs.

Chris, welcome to the show.

Chris: Good morning, thank you for having me.

Scott: So tell us how you came to wanna do jams.

Chris: LunaGrown, It came at a necessity actually. Being in the bar business, when the State did what the State did to the businesses as far as smoking regulations and DWI regulations, a lot of places closed. So at my age, I’m going, “What am I gonna do?

So friends had purchased land and we discovered blueberries on the land, eight acres of wild blueberries, and I said, “Well we’ll give us a try.

And I made some and sold a little so I said, “Well we’re just gonna wing it and we’re gonna go and we’re gonna see where it takes us and here we are, six, I don’t how many years later?

Yeah, We had to build a commercial kitchen after the first year because…

Scott: Which is no joke.

Chris: We wanted to go, reduce sugar, you have to have a commercial kitchen, so you put that up and you file all the paperwork and you just go, you just do… So that is…

Scott: Tell us about some of the Jams. I know we just tried the strawberry, which you…

Chris: You tried the raspberry.

Scott: That’s right I’m sorry, I apologize.

It’s only my second cup of coffee -but the point is, I’m looking at the clock on as much as I love doing the show, I wanna get back out there and have another bagel with that jam on it.

So tell us about some of the flavors and some of the things that make LunaGrown unique.

Chris: Right now, we are actually in the next month, we’ll be switching to the holiday season products, we’re coming into Apple season pear season cranberries, which we don’t grow we actually have to get those from Massachusetts, but those are the upcoming items that we’re focusing on.

Susan: So are you doing any pumpkin spice? Anything…

Chris: I don’t do anything pumpkin…

Susan: That seems to be like a hit on the taste of register.

Chris: The challenge with pumpkin, apple butters. Any of the butter products, the acid levels are different, so the pH is different. You get into this whole food chemistry thing and different federal regulations it’s crazy.

Scott: Chris, we have a caller. A good morning, if you could tell us your name and where you calling from.

Caller: Yes, it’s Mark.

Scott: Hey Mark Good morning how are you.

Mark: Good morning Scott, Good morning Chris and good morning Susan. I just had a question for about the Jams Chris, can you tell me if they’re organic, or not and if so, USDA or anything like that? How many carbs how many sugars the product would have?

Chris: Okay, we are not organic certified, we do not spray pesticides however we’re not organic certified, that’s a whole another deal.

Our sugars and our carbohydrates, the sugars, usually fall between five and seven grams per tablespoon. So the carbs one or two of that, I, I only said we’re not organic. Was there another question?

Mark: Yes, the carbs, the total carbs for the product or depending on what the product is, of course.

Chris: Well, it’s gonna change per product of course. But the cars were gonna fall around the sugar area so I… So carbohydrates would range anywhere between 7-9 For tablespoon.

Mark: Okay.

Scott: Which, actually, I’m gonna cut in here ’cause I’m a huge peanut butter and jelly fan and when you take the standard Jellies off the shelf they’re 13 to 15 grams of carbohydrate, per tablespoon. So this is much better and much easier for us. Diabetics.

Mark: Right? And Chris has… Normally Fruit generally has sugar in it naturally. And what tends to be the lower carbs is one lower than the other. Let’s say if we’re talking a blueberry versus say the strawberry or something like that.

Chris: Well, in general, the fruits that are lower in sugar will have less carbs, so if you’re a keto person, you can actually…have raspberries or blueberries on that specific program because they have lower cars than say Banana, which we don’t make banana jam, but peaches will be higher because it’s a higher sugar fruit.

Mark: Right, depending on the content of the fruit.

Chris: Correct.

Mark: Alright. Okay, thank you very much, I appreciate it.

Scott: Mark, as always we love hearing from you, and have a great and safe labor day. That thank you.

Susan: I actually follow a keto style, so I have actually a fruit net carb list for the serving for and Strawberries are one of the lowest.

Scott: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, seriously. When you’re diabetic, and your sugars are low you wanna reach for that banana or pop of Orange juice. Talk about to switch over to the holiday season, or what are the big sellers that we should all try to get before they sell out.

Chris: What everybody tries to get from me, in December we do a blood orange marmalade with raspberries, and it comes in, I’m sorry, the oranges, we have brought in, of course, that gets made and it’s gone. I mean it’s gone within a week. Yeah, that’s one of the…

Susan: What was that again?

Chris: Blood orange with raspberries which… And that won’t be available to December, but what we’re coming into a…

Susan: So can you pre-order it?

Chris: No.

Scott: Ha Ha, that was my next question.

Chris: We don’t do pre-orders because we don’t know how the crops are gonna be… A challenge.

Susan: Right, that makes sense.

Chris: Three or four years ago, we did an apricot a fresh apricot right off our trees and it was beautiful, it was an absolutely beautiful product. And then the year after was so challenging with the harvest. We didn’t get any, wow and we had this year, we had a limited amount.

Susan: This has been so wet. So you have that effect.

Scott: The people forget that with all the science and technology farming is still, it’s a very volatile business.

Susan: Such a natural process.

Scott: And do not mess with mother nature, she’s the boss.

Susan: So I have a question, is it are you represented at any farmers’ markets locally.

Chris: The one farmers’ market is Goshen farmers and that is the One, is probably the only farmers’ market, I do every year on a regular basis. It’s a great market and the people that run it are wonderful because they… Diana, the market manager, she polishes her people.

So, I, when I first started there six years ago that was my first farmers’ market every… And if you listen to your market managers and your fellow business people, they’ll bring you up, they’ll help I guess hone your skills so that you’re better in the public eye and your product starts to look better. It’s just a really great experience.

Scott: Let give you an example of that. When I went to the Goshen market a couple the lease go, I bought some broccoli and some other vegetables and the stand that I bought it at said “Now go over here because they have the best onions in the best garlic”. And so it really was like, “Well, we’re the first step in the recipe. Now go see these folks”, right?

Susan: It’s a tag-team effort…

Scott: Yeah, I so how do people get in touch with you and can they actually just come to the farm?

Chris: No, we do not, as most farms you’ll find if they’re not a market they don’t allow people on it anymore. The insurance is crazy. So, sadly, nobody visits the farm. However, we are available online, of course, we ship nationwide, including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.

Susan: What is your site?

Chris: Lunagrown.com.

Susan: How’d you come up with “Luna-grown.

Chris: Luna? When we got the land where my partners got the land, they had a dog named Luna, and I had a dog named Ben and they were best pals I mean, the best pals the… We let them run the land, it was 50 acres and then we couldn’t find Luna, we didn’t know where she went, so we found her sitting in the blueberries… She was sitting there picking these blueberries off the bushes that’s kind of how it started, but how could you not name it after her?

Susan: That’s awesome, I love that story.

Scott: And folks, just so you know, it’s L-U-N-A-grown.

Susan: Yeah, that’s beautiful. So we have to go to break when we come back. We’ll have more discussions with Chris Wilson and…

Scott: And keep your appetite going.

[commercial] 10:55 – 12:20.

Scott: And welcome back everyone. This is Scott Lask with the belt Management Group and Susan Glusica with label prosperity solutions. You’re listening to Wall Street to Main Street where money matters matter and of course, today, we’re talking about food, our favorite topic, that’s right.

Scott: Well the money is really there just to facilitate the food.

And we are here, with Chris Wilson, the owner of LunaGrown. So with the holiday season coming up, what do you wanna let all the moms and dads out there know that they should order right now so that we have a better Thanksgiving.

Chris: Well… They don’t have to order anything right now, but they should go to the site and familiarize themselves with it and then at least look at where our retailers are ’cause we do have a lot of really wonderful retailers in the Hudson Valley from cold spring up to Albany, and everything in between.

Scott: Well let’s say in Orange County.

Susan: I was up in Albany yesterday so well.

Chris: There are two stores in Warwick that carry us, Warwick Winery and the olive store in Warwick.

Oh, I cool.

Chris: There are three different “butchers-specific butchers that carry a product to pair with the meat sure, and to pair with cheeses ’cause that’s our goal. We tell folks. Skip the bread.

Yeah, because you can do so much more with the product. You meet graves, you can have cheese pairings you should have wine pairings you can really add it to your life and just that little just a little bit of sweetness in the world.

Susan: And it does change the pallet when you’re testing things.

Scott: Oh you’re killing me because I got a pork loin in the freezer… Yeah, that what my plan was, is to slit it up and put some cinnamon apples in and wrap it in bacon and you put it in the oven for about half out, and then you throw it on the grill. But I’m gonna take a step back and I’m gonna look at some of your jams.

That’s a great idea.

Chris: I do it that way or nice glaze on top is just a beautiful thing, we can say, or way to go.

Scott: Yes, so, so are you doing any events and tastings anything of that at…

Chris: So, our next event is actually in two weeks and we’re doing the Hudson Valley, Wine, and Food festival, in Rhinebeck.

Scott: Oh, very nice.

Chris: And after that, I believe we are doing in August. Warwick Applefest, and there’s a few in between. And Thanksgiving we always do to Bialas farms has a very nice Thanksgiving event with fresh vegetables and different vendors to help people get ready for that holiday.

Scott: What about… Just mind-boggling that I’m already thinking about Christmas gifts? Do you do like baskets?

Chris: No, no we don’t specifically.

Scott: Are there any gift services that specifically buy a lot of your product.

Chris: There are some florists that buy us in smaller jars because they’ll do gift baskets and such for the holidays.

Scott: So before we conclude what’s the one message about LUNA farms that you would like to get out and have the public really understand about what you’re doing?

Chris: Well, our goal was to offer a better product and to offer a product lower in sugar with great taste. Because we also have family members that are diabetic. So that was a big thing. But I would say to anybody that’s looking at life is, we can go back a little bit.

You’re looking at life and you’ve got a new business or you have an old business. The biggest thing is to not be afraid, that is the biggest killer in business, yes, and what we’ve learned along the way is I’m uncertain about it. We’re gonna do it, we’re just gonna go, the only time you’re gonna fail, you’re gonna fail to yourself, nobody else is gonna know so.

Susan: And there are great learnings it’s.

Chris: It’s the most important thing in business and for us, and we hope that we have a good following, but we hope that that continues.

Scott: I do, I think that’s great advice.

Susan: It’s sage advice, yeah.

Scott: Well, I mean, think about it, and of course we’re in financial services, but can you think of any business during the crash of 2008, there wasn’t sitting a go. What’s gonna happen and everyone was forced to take that step back. And I know the one thing, ’cause I did a massive restructuring that it took three years to get some traction, but the one thing that kept me going was the famous story about Thomas Edison, when his engineers and scientist said, Mr. Edison. We’ve tried to find that film and 10000 times and we really can say we gave it our best and that we failed because now we just found 10-000 ways that didn’t work. So I think that really that speaks very highly to the way you run your company. And I love businesses that founded based on a desire to do something better for the people that they love.

Susan: To improve the lives of those they love and the community at large. Absolutely.

Chris, you’re gonna have to come back. We’re pretty, pun intended, that we’re pretty jammed up until the end of the year… But if we find the spot that we can have you, or at least maybe you’ll call in, as we get close to Thanksgiving, so we can help promote some business we’d love to do that for you.

Chris: Well, thank you very much and thank you for having me.

Scott: My pleasure.

Susan: I have a question. How can people get your book?

Chris: The books available on the website or at events.

Susan: “Luna-grown, dot com yes, yeah, so.

Chris: The Kindle version is on Amazon.

Susan: You have recipes in the book.

Scott: Oh yeah, So I see we’re looking at graves and saute. So, of course, I just turned to the desert, to look at this look at this I’m drooling.

Susan: That’s beautiful.

Scott: Yeah, you know what is in many ways to this, can we take some pictures out of the book and put it on our social media sites?

Chris: Sure!

More great interviews, music, and more on WTBQ Radio. One of the last privately owned community radio stations in the United States and the only station in NY with Live call-in shows!

Spectrum News National Farmers’ Market Week August, 2018

Anchor: (00:00)
Goshen offers farm fresh foods to first-time visitors and season shoppers alike. Orie Givens takes a closer look at an Orange County farm to table tradition.Orie: (00:03)
Friday is farmers day in Goshen and Edgwick Farms has a bit of a following for their goat cheeses made right at their Cornwall wall farm.Edgwick: (00:18)
We have a Peach pairing this week
Customer: (00:18)
I saw online, I’m very excited
Orie: (00:21)
And markets like the one in Goshen are the farm’s bread and butter.
Edgwick: (00:25)
All of our income [is] from farmer’s markets, [we] sell directly to our customers. We want them to meet the farmer we want them to know where their food is coming from. We want them to taste their cheese.
Orie: (00:36)
Money that goes right back into the business and the local economy.
Edgwick: (00:39)
Those dollars feed our animals, pay for our staff. We hire locally from and pay for things we buy locally so the money stays in the community.
Orie: (00:48)
Organizers say that connecting local farmers with the community is what the weekly market is all about.
Diana Lupinski: (00:53)
You can talk to your farmer here and say, what are your practices, are you a conventional or are you commercial? How much do you really spray, are you certified organic?
Orie: (01:05)
The Goshen farmer’s market has been in business for 26 years, grown from eight farmers to no more than 30 the farmers say that the community here helps farmers thrive.
LunaGrown: (01:13)
This is the first farmer’s market I started in. So for me, it’s been great to grow the business here and grow community.
Orie: (01:20)
But the frequent shoppers, say one thing that makes them choose the farmer’s market over conventional stores. The freshness of the food.
Customer: (01:27)
Because of fresh vegetables, fresh bread. Fresh cheese, it’s all better.
Orie: (01:27)
Promoting that idea of freshness and supporting local growers is the point behind national farmers market week, which runs through Saturday.
Customer: (01:38)
The fact of knowing and being able to speak to the farmers and seeing the people that you’re actually supporting. Whereas when you go to the grocery store, who knows? You have no idea where it’s coming from
Orie: (01:49)
And the farmers are listing.
LunaGrown: (01:50)
It helps us to know what our customers want, what they’re looking for, rather than just going blindly into it.
Orie: (01:55)
Building relationships around fresh food while supporting the region’s rich agricultural industry in Goshen Orie Givens spectrum news.

For additional ideas on utilizing jam, marmalade and jellies check out our book “Beyond the Bread~ Tasteful Exploration of Jam and Marmalade” available in both Print and Kindle editions.

For Immediate Release-LunaGrown Jams the Internet with Tradition

LunaGrown Jams the Internet with Traditional Favorites

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 7, 2014
Contact: Christopher Wilson, chris@lunagrown.com

We are pleased to announce that LunaGrown is taking a giant leap forward and available for online purchase in the United States.

After two fantastic seasons of unparalleled success, we have decided to take advantage of new opportunities. This year, you will still see your favorite LunaGrown Jams: free from artificial ingredients and additives, full of flavor and a healthy choice in Jam. Our mission to bring you a traditionally made jam product and retain a positive image remain strong. We are proud to begin expanding to cities and towns across America.

With a new year and a new location, LunaGrown will also be making some changes. While our production remains the same, it is our intent to expand our line of traditionally made jams suited to the Nation’s Regional interests. With the availability of LunaGrown online, Americans may once again enjoy the custom of small batch jams in their homes.

We look forward to continuing our great relationship with our local community, farmers, fellow artisans, and all of our fans-with spring just around the corner, we will be in full gear both at the farm and in the kitchen. Everyone at LunaGrown, is committed to making this year’s opportunities memorable.

Our list of local retailers continues to grow and refine itself. We are thankful to the fine artisans that use LunaGrown as part of their production when creating gourmet foods. We are also proud to have so many visionaries support our efforts in bringing tradition back to our homes and families.

For more information, please visit www.LunaGrown.com

We look forward to seeing you at this Summer’s Markets!