by Barbara Arnstein
The EVL Farm Shop on 11 Martha Street is Ellicottville, NY, is brought to you by the owners of Native Offerings Farm in East Otto.
The EVL Farm Shop at 11 Martha Street in Ellicottville, was created by Stewart and Deb Ritchie, who run Native Offerings Farm. It’s mainly a dispensary, shaped by regenerative values, but they have plans to stock it with items from their farm, including vegetables and garden-ready transplants, hemp products and products from their network of local producers. It builds on more than two decades of organically managed growing in Cattaraugus County, involving healthy soils, ecological growing practices and caring for the land. The house brands are B-side Cannabis and Torpedos.
The farm’s mission is “to provide the community with the best food”. In addition to produce, it also offers grass-fed, grass-finished beef. It serves Erie County and Cattaraugus County, and has distribution in Buffalo and Little Valley. It is nine miles to the northwest of Ellicottville, and most of it is in Otto, NY. (The address is 8501 Maples Road, Little Valley, NY.). Longtime supporter and CSA member Dawn Dybowski enthusiastically praised it with the comment, “Native Offerings Farm has, hands down, the best greens in WNY!” Longtime customer Doug Stein said, about the cannabis products, “B-side cannabis flower suits my lifestyle. I enjoy their Wedding Cake strain.”
Stewart Ritchie commented, “I grew up skiing at HoliMont and wanted to add something unique to the Ellicottville experience, a real connection to the farm.” Deb Ritchie said about their cannabis, “All of our cannabis products undergo lab testing to certify that they are safe for consumption. The QR placed on all of our cannabis products links to the Certificate of Analysis (COA), it’s a level of transparency that customers can count on in the legal market.” Sam Ritchie added, ” As the cultivation manager for cannabis production on the farm, my job is to look at the farm as an agro-ecosystem. Each season will bring out different plant responses that ultimately shape the end products that we process on the farm. We care for the crop using organic inputs to ensure the best possible strain specific expression of our finished flower. This can include complex aromas, flavors and effects.” The website states, they offer cannabis with integrity, and that it reflects the same care, stewardship and attention to quality as their other farm products.
For more information, go to www.evlfarm.com and www.nativeofferings.com and look at @bside-ny on their son’s Instagram, which highlights their farming processes, email deb@nativeofferings.com, or call (716) 801-0915.