PEORIA MAGAZINE August 2023

Mary Beth and Patrick Fiedler of Fid's Valley Produce, Washington

ORGANIC AND FREE HOME DELIVERY The Poeppel family – Anita, Brian and daughters Lucy, Susannah and Laura – is passionate about growing food with no pesticides, improving the soil and respecting nature. “We try to do as little harm as possible to the land,” said Anita Poeppel, a Stark County farm girl. “We try to coexist and not dominate the land.” The Poeppels moved to Broad Branch Farm at 22000 Berchtold Road northwest of Chillicothe in 2016 after farming for more than a decade on a small farm near Wyoming. They started selling on a small scale at a farmers market in Naperville in the western suburbs of Chicago, where Brian had grown up. They expanded their operation, providing vegetables, salad greens, grass-fed beef, pastured pork and chicken, pastured eggs, herbs and flowers, to members of their CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Today, they also offer free home delivery for orders over $25 to a wide area around Peoria and Chicago’s western suburbs. “CSA is a smaller part of our business,” Anita said. “We sell year-round, offering home delivery. The home delivery model is pretty nice.” Anita and Brian Poeppel of Broad Ranch Farm in Chillicothe

Customers can go to their website at broadbranchfarm.com and select what items they’d like to have delivered. “We firmly believe local organic agri culture can bring wellness to our lives, our communities and our environment,” Anita said. “We believe in knowing where our food is grown, who grew it and what growing practices were used.” The family’s vegetables and salad greens are grown without pesticides, GMOs and outside inputs. They focus on soil health to give the plants protection from disease and insects and to promote the biological activity that makes plants grow well. Even the flowers and herbs are pesticide-free. “We literally handpick your food just a day or two before it’s delivered,” Anita said. “You’ll taste the difference.” Their chickens, cattle and pigs are all treated with the same care and principles, with no growth hormones, antibiotics or GMOs. “There’s no way the grocery store can compare,” Anita said. “Our food speaks for itself.” Lucy Krider of Bradford picks fresh garlic at the Broad Ranch Farm

Patrick Fiedler of Fid's Valley Produce is starting his next generation farmer

He also sets up at farmers markets in Chillicothe and at Peoria’s Riverfront Market and Junction City. He’s considering adding the East Peoria Levee District. “People really like local food. They call us the hidden gem,” Starnes said. “We only sell what we grow. We’re on sand here so we don’t grow good sweet corn, but a friend of mine does. So I pick his and sell his corn for him.”

Lisa Coon is a Peoria native who had a long career in the newspaper industry before moving into marketing and communications

10 JULY 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE