Shortly after moving to Brooklyn in 2004 to live with my girlfriend, a seven-year resident of The City, in order to teach 5th and 6th-grade science and math, I started selling my family’s organic maple syrup at a few specialty food shops in the neighborhood. After two years and some convincing, we moved together to Burlington, Vermont. I hoped to be able to continue the distribution. With aspirations of a modestly solvent venture, the number of stores was expanded and additional products were sought.
Growing up on a small, subsistence dairy farm of approximately twenty-five milking cows and a growing sugarbush initially producing less than 300 gallons of maple syrup annually taught me a lot about frugality, conservation, and stewardship. Not to mention the value of simple hard work. It is with these fundamental principles in mind that Pumpkin Village Foods (PVF) has grown slowly. There are no aspirations of a large company with many employees. These ideals will continue to be integrated into the design and scope of this distribution in many ways.