New Jersey may be the Garden State, but Bucks County residents Alan Brown and Lynne Goldman think southeastern Pennsylvania has plenty to offer in the realm of agriculture. And they started a business to prove it.
The duo launched Bucks County Food Tours last summer as a way to showcase the products landing on local tables from the shrinking but still active farming community in central Bucks County. The five-hour tours cost $95 per person, and run on Fridays, Saturdays, or by appointment. Most tours make five stops, covering about 30 miles in Bucks County. The fee includes transportation and lunch. There is only one tour per day, and usually between two to six people on each tour.
The most popular tour is “Mixed Bag of Bucks,” which may include peeks at a commercial bakery, an organic dairy, a vegetable farm, a butcher, and an artisanal ice cream maker. There are also four more specialized food tour options, like “Make Your Own Pizza,” where patrons collect ingredients for and then make their own pizzas. For all tours, the stops vary by season, Goldman said.
While the tours change depending on the season, Brown and Goldman try to keep them going year-round. The tour company is a part-time gig for the owners, who both loved the local food scene and felt it was vital to do something to promote it.
Brown is a self-described foodie who works full-time for NFL Films. Goldman left a two-decade career in corporate organization three years ago to run a food website called Bucks County Taste. Goldman runs the website with her husband, Mark Feffer, who works as the managing editor of Dice.com, an information technology and engineering career website. (Feffer, a Dow Jones alumnus, founded Tramp Steamer Media, an online media company formerly based in Trenton.)
Goldman also is the administrator for the Bucks County Foodshed Alliance, a non-profit organization that promotes and petitions to expand the local, sustainable food supply in Bucks County. This role may explain Goldman’s enthusiasm for introducing people to Bucks County agriculture. She said it’s her favorite part of doing the tours, particularly because most of Bucks County Food Tours’ customers live close enough to become patrons of the businesses they discover on the tour.
If Goldman is on point, there could be a big payoff for foodies and farm enthusiasts in central New Jersey who go just a bit farther afield.
Reservations for tours should be made at least two weeks in advance. For more information about Bucks County Taste, visit www.buckscountytaste.com.
Bucks County Food Tours. 215-598-3979. Alan Brown and Lynne Goldman, owners. buckscountyfoodtours.com
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