Pitzer Welcomes Sage Mountain Farmer to McConnell Bistro

Sage Mountain Farm Owner Phil Noble and his son [check TK], with Executive Chef Marcos Rios and Bon Appétit Fellow Samuel Martin

Sage Mountain Farm owner Phil Noble with his son Benjie, Pitzer College Executive Chef Marcos Rios, and and BA Fellow Samuel Martin

Sometimes students go to the farm — and sometimes the farmer comes to the students.

General Manager Toni Morbitt and Bon Appétit Fellow Samuel Martin recently invited Sage Mountain Farm owner Phil Noble to talk to students at Pitzer College in Claremont, CA.

General Manager Toni Morbitt [check TK] discusses Sage Mountain produce with a student

Philip Hand, Licensed Q Grader at local vendor Groundwork Coffee Co., talks with a Pitzer student in McConnell Bistro about Groundwork’s new coffee “Fuerza Feminina” — a Direct Trade, Organic coffee produced in Colombia by a cooperative of female farmers

Over 12 years ago, Phil and his family began farming in their backyard in Anza, about 95 miles from Pitzer, and selling their surplus at area farmers’ markets. Today, Sage Mountain Farm is a leader in Southern California’s local organic farming movement.

On the day of Phil’s visit, Director of Operations and Catering Vania Hernandez, Toni, and Samuel worked with Phil to set up a table with information about the farm as well as Bon Appétit’s Farm to Fork program. Phil brought some of his Golden Delicious and Honeycrisp apples to sample, and Executive Chef Marcos Rios made cucumber lime and melon papaya aguas frescas with the farm’s fresh organic produce. The drinks received countless compliments!

Students seemed interested in learning from Phil about what his farm grows and about organic farming and regenerative agriculture in general — and in understanding more deeply the relationship between the farm and Pitzer.