So many amazing East End farms and food producers, so little time. It’s simply impossible to hit all the places you like, even if you plan your expedition down to the last bunch of arugula. And what about hard-to-find cult favorites, like nut butters from the 3 Nuts, fresh juice from the Giving Room, microgreens from Koppert Cress, quail eggs from Miloski’s and shiitakes from Long Island Mushroom? It’s been a problem. Until now—just point and click, and the best of the East End and beyond will appear at your door.
Farm 2 Kitchen Long Island is an online market and delivery service that’s just over a year old and has grown to serve about 250 active members on Long Island and in New York City. It’s the creation of Kassata Bollman, a former journalist who, in 2012, followed her chef husband, Scott, back to his native North Fork to join the family business. Scott’s father, Bruce Bollman, has owned the Cheese Emporium in Greenport for 40 years. Back in the day, it was the North Fork’s only source for fine cheese and artisanal food products. The younger Bollmans immediately brought in more local products, expanded the menu and launched Scott’s side business, North Fork Sea Salt. Kassata, looking for a way to take the family business even further, decided to see if the time was ripe for an online market and home delivery service: Farm 2 Kitchen was born.
“We want to build a life out here, and this all just came together in a very organic way,” says Kassata. “We started out with a handful of customers; I couldn’t even tell you how they found out about us. It was spring, and there wasn’t much produce around yet, of course, so all we had was a few bunches of herbs, a little spinach and the preserves and such. We had two orders the first week, and then 10, and it kept growing. By midsummer, it just blew up! It was crazy. We had to hire people and get a big warehouse space in Cutchogue. One of our vendors does delivery, and I pleaded with the guy to help us. Thank God he took pity on me! Now, we’ve got the kinks worked out, and the feedback has been really good.”
There’s a wide selection at the online market, even off season. In season, the selection is very large and varied and changes often as new produce and products rotate in. Many items are organic, or local, or both; some items are from elsewhere if local sources are insufficient, such as grassfed beef. Larger suppliers like Satur Farms may also source conventional produce from out of the region. This is how it works: You go to the website and follow the easy-to-understand instructions, create an account, select baked goods, dairy products, fresh vegetables and herbs, eggs, poultry, seafood, preserves, juices and more, then set up a delivery time and date according to the schedule offered, and pay. The Bollmans and team do the rest. New for this year is the option to save the delivery fee and pick up your order at the Cutchogue warehouse.
