Spinach, broccoli and herbs line a greenhouse at Stone Acres Farm in the seaside community of Stonington. Amee Hussey shakes aphids off a leaf of organic spinach before she gives it a taste.
“Delicious!” she says.
Hussey is chef at the Oyster Club, a farm-to-table restaurant in nearby Mystic. Part of her job is ordering fresh produce here. She says she feels very spoiled.
“It definitely makes cooking at home a lot harder because there's so much here to choose from all the time,” Hussey says. “It just makes you more appreciative and aware of everything that you're buying and what you're surrounded by and what’s available.”
Hussey is more aware of who puts food on the table, too.
Less than 7 percent of restaurants are run by female chefs, like herself, but women own about 40 percent of farms in the state. This prompted a special event at the farm to celebrate the surprising amount of women who work in the local food economy.