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MAMARONECK, NEW YORK

A new farm-to-table vessel will be sailing out of Mamaroneck soon.

The company Harbor Harvest says it is dedicated to developing the relationship between farmer, harvest and consumer. It sells fresh, locally sourced vegetables, butchered meats and dairy products to restaurants and grocery stores.

Bob Kunkel, the owner of Harbor Harvest, has designed a vessel to create a more efficient route to deliver the prodcuts. He says it’s the first U.S.-built hybrid cargo vessel.

“We’re trying to take congestion off the highways and put freight back on the water,” he told News 12.

The Harbor Harvest boat will be recharged during loading and unloading of products. It will be ready to ship out in a few weeks.

With a focus on the state’s three deepwater ports, Connecticut also looks to foster commerce that leverages offshore wind, shortsea opportunities and local entrepreneurs.

By Tom Ewing
Maritime Logistics Magazine

The Connecticut Port Authority (CPA) has been in operation for almost three years, established by the governor and legislature to better coordinate efforts to improve upon Connecticut’s maritime economy, including a major focus on the State’s three deep water ports: New London, New Haven and Bridgeport.

The CPA, though, has a big picture vision and its focus includes small harbor improvements, ferry and cruise opportunities and system maintenance, particularly dredging. It wasn’t always like this. Prior to CPA’s establishment, port management decisions and development were housed in the state Department of Transportation. Importantly, however, the CPA is still linked to DOT; in fact, the DOT Commissioner – Jim Redeker – is on the Board of Directors…

…One company ready to move into this new/old space is Harbor Harvest, based in Norwalk, CT. HH is a full-service food company: it has a restaurant, a catering service, a brick-and-mortar grocery, it grows and sells herbs and is ready to start up – likely in March – one very unique additional service: maritime transport among farms and farmers in CT and Long Island.

Harbor Harvest Underway
Bob Kunkel is one of HH’s principals and owners. His firm has contracted with Derecktor Shipyards to build a 65-foot all-aluminum catamaran vessel that will be used to pick up and deliver produce, meats and dairy products from local farms on both sides of Long Island Sound.

Kunkel explained that there are a number of logistical factors favoring his new venture. First, it’s difficult for small, local farms to reach customers farther than 15-20 miles away, despite market demand, which is increasing in his region, Kunkel said. These local shipments are almost always below full truckload scale. “There’s a big difference between local shipping and global shipping,” Kunkel pointed out. Additionally, he said that local officials don’t like 18-wheelers making deliveries in small city centers. The delays and unpredictability on major roadways are, for food, counter to notions of – fresh – at the heart of higher value.

Kunkel said many CT farms are near rivers and harbors. And, that’s important because his catamaran draws just 3 feet. As cargo, most farm goods are shipped on pallets and moved by forklift or a jack-lift. His boat will have RO/RO capability with refrigerated storage. Capacity is about 28 pallets. His plan: a grower meets him at the dock, say, in Norwalk, and Kunkel ships it east to Bridgeport, or south, across the Sound to Huntington, Long Island. The buyer either picks up the pallets at the dock or Kunkel can arrange for the “last mile” of ground transport. Quicker, predictable, fresher and competitive. Kunkel thinks customers will be drawn to the environmental pluses with his service – decreased ground-based transport impacts along with decreased CO2 emissions since his vessel will be a hybrid battery-diesel combination.

Kunkel was asked about the priorities he would emphasize considering CT’s new Strategy. He said an operation like his looks for support in two ways: development that rebuilds a working waterfront, one that meets commercial needs and harbor access, again for commercial operations, not just, say, for recreational boaters who might need a marina.

For Kunkel, Connecticut’s moves are timely. “Places are looking for this kind of service,” he said, adding that “growth is out there.” He is confident his market could eventually require 12 delivery boats providing service from New Jersey to Rhode Island.

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Full story here and here.

U.S. Agriculture is suffering from abnormally high levels of concentration with a handful of corporations controlling food production and consumption. This agricultural shift has forced thousands of independent family farmers off the land damaging rural economies, public health and our environment. Farm to Harbor is working towards restoring fairness and competition to family farms in the New England and New York Hudson Valley. The project’s success could transform the landscape of our food system for the benefit of all, not just a few in many other areas.

Two Hundred years ago family farms were located on rivers and harbors as the Nation’s waterways were the single source of transportation to bring their goods to market. In January of 1956, the Nation created the Eisenhower Interstate system and with the growth of our highways, corporate farming turned to trucking and moved inland where land and labor were less expensive. That Intestate highway system is now over congested, lacks sufficient drivers to meet market requirements and as a result the family farmer is relegated to selling his product at farm stands and farm markets within a ten to twenty mile radius. The family farmer’s largest problem is regional transportation and the ability to efficiently move his products to the larger population areas where he can sell his goods at a fair price.

Our project looks to reintroduce family farming to the maritime industry with the construction and operation of Hybrid refrigerated cargo catamarans delivering fresh food to the SNAP kitchens and urban food deserts in New York City, Brooklyn, Long Island and Connecticut by utilizing the waterways of Long Island Sound and the Hudson River. The cargo vessels operate without emissions, environmental impact or noise using lithium battery propulsion. They are capable of reducing current truck itineraries in these areas lasting 9 to 12 hours to periods of 45 minutes to 4 hours pending on the geographic location. The initiative looks to develop pilot programs in several locations near waterway located farming and dock space within the cities where eighteen-wheel trucking is no longer viable.

In order for family farmers to thrive we have to create more markets for them, giving more people the opportunity to access family farm food. Farm Aid fosters connections between farmers and eaters by growing and strengthening local and regional markets and working to get family farm food in urban neighborhoods, grocery stores, restaurants, schools and other public institutions.

The U.S. agricultural sector suffers from abnormally high levels of concentration, giving just a handful of corporations a virtual chokehold over food production and consumption. This has forced hundreds of thousands of independent family farmers off the land and damaged rural economies, public health and our environment. Efforts to restore fairness and competition in agriculture are long overdue and could transform the landscape of our food system for the benefit of all, not just a few.

About Farm Aid: Farm Aid’s mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews host an annual festival to raise funds to support Farm Aid’s work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family farm food. For more than 30 years, Farm Aid, with the support of the artists who contribute their performances each year, has raised more than $53 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.

Save the date of February 3rd at 7pm to join us for our next Chef’s demonstration – “Himalayan Salt Block Grilling”.

We met Mark Bitterman the leading expert in Himalayan Salt cooking in Savannah, Georgia in December and have been woking with him to have salt grill block available at Harbor Harvest.
If you love to find new cooking methods, this one will get you excited. We will teach the salt block method, discuss its history in Asian cooking and provide samples of some of our finest beef, pork and local shellfish.

Paired with some interesting white wines and this is an evening you don’t want to miss. Limited copies of Mark’s cookbook and Salt Blocks will be available for sale during the evening.

$50 per person – don’t miss this one