Owned by a pair of sixth-generation dairy farmers named Gayle and Thad Montgomery, the business is finding ways to keep a small family farm sustainable in a global economy which is growing increasingly difficult for local farmers.
“A couple of years ago, we decided to branch off and diversify a little bit,” Gayle said. “We opened a farm store here on our property where we produce all of our own beef and pork and eggs. We partner with another farm to provide raw milk pitchers for customers across the state.”
When it first opened in 2019, the farm store’s customer base was primarily local, according to Gayle. But nowadays, Melvin’s gets business from tourists and customers traveling from as far out as Roanoke as people look to support local and unprocessed food producers.
“Pretty much the relationship has gotten to where we order everything on Amazon, and so there’s no interaction. There’s no human interaction with that,” Thad said. “When you present the farm and the farm is a destination grocery store, so to speak, it brings about a relationship and people begin to trust where their food comes from, and that’s important.”
The couple practices regenerative agriculture, an alternative approach to sustainable agriculture which focuses on improving the health of the ecosystem as a whole. Their production methods make their food healthier for both the consumers and the environment.
“[Thad] takes care of the soil and the land. Healthy soil equals healthy animals equals healthy people, which is fantastic,” Gayle said. “We’re not concerned with producing crops to ship off and make profit from, so that changes the perspective.”
“Food is medicine,” Thad explained. “What we put in our bodies is what we become. So it’s important for us to understand that the connection back to the land is one of the greatest blessings that you will ever have for your body and your family and yourself.”
And while the eggs, honey, beef, and pork up for sale at Melvin’s Farm to Fork are all produced on Thad and Gayle’s farm, they shared that partnerships with other local producers is key to their collective success. Melvin’s carries 30 local vendors in store, allowing them to meet their customers’ whole dietary needs. “Our goal is to provide as much local product as possible for people to shop from,” said Gayle.
Another innovation of the Montgomerys’ is a meal bundle kit for their customers.
“I thought, ‘well, what is most people’s biggest issue every week?’ And really, it’s ‘What’s for dinner?’ It’s an age-old question,” Gayle shared.“I created a menu for them with our meats and then we provided recipes to go with that, which was a lot of fun.”
The bundle is designed around five different sources of protein per week. “I shared my favorite meatloaf recipe that my family eats all the time, and then I gave other recipes for things that are maybe a little bit different, out of your cooking realm and what you’d cook on a normal basis. So, things like trout, we provided a recipe for that,” Gayle said. “So people were eating high quality protein with their meal each week.”
The Montgomerys identify Melvin’s Farm to Fork as a part of a larger social shift toward eating locally produced foods again. “I think the local movement is on the rise. It started occurring during the pandemic,” said Gayle. “Supporting local generates revenue in your area. [A dairy farmer] spends his money seven times over in this county before it ever leaves. If you go to one of those big box stores, your money leaves the county directly. Like, immediately.”
“I think that if I could spend all day with people talking about anything, I would talk about the opportunity to support local [businesses],” she added. “You have the opportunity to build relationships with the people that are growing your food, and I can’t think of anything more important than that.”
