“What an extraordinary achievement for a civilization: to have developed the one diet that reliably makes its people sick !!!” --Renee Savary

 Renee Savary, owner and operator of Twin Oaks Farm, is more than just passionate about food, she is a self-described “business woman, seasoned Master Gardener and activist that decided to become a farmer to grow real food.” Growing up in Switzerland where whole foods were a part of every meal, her family would frequent produce markets and butcher shops to get the freshest ingredients. Between watching it grow at her grandmother’s farm and a love for cooking it, Renee grew up with a zealous appetite for good food. When she came to the U.S. she got caught up, like so many do, in the appeal of cheap, easy, fast foods and quickly realized how sick and sluggish it made her. Noticing that “crappy foods” were everywhere, and a daily part of people’s diet, she decided to start Twin Oaks Farm to bring real foods back into the spotlight.

                                    “Welcome to the place where real food is grown!”

Twin Oaks Farm is 94 acres of rolling hills spotted with old oaks in North Florida. This USDA certified organic land used to be cow pasture, but now supports free-roaming chickens and ducks, non-genetically modified vegetables and fruits, and the production of all-natural goods such as delicious preserves and chutneys. Renee points out that the farm is not certified because of the organic label fad, but that it is simply the way farming should be done. She explains that Twin Oaks Farm is “above and beyond organic” and I understand what she means. This is someone whose fervent desire to produce food the right way radiates from her with every word as she tells me about her happy chickens that are smart, but so ADHD that she has to move the coop with them in it or else they forget where it is. They, like the ducks, are fed real grain that is 100% soy free. The “lucky birds,” as Renee describes them, move from pasture to pasture, enjoying their days grazing off the land and cooling down in the shade of the oaks.

“I was thinking it would be funny to reconstruct backward the food that is out there...

like my chickens: once it is on your plate, we could rewind and we would end up pretty much with a chicken, a little crooked, but a chicken.” --Renee Savary

Renee not only produces real food, but she also helps educate people about what they are eating through the farm’s website (http://www.twinoaksfarm.net/) and a Facebook page. Twin Oaks Farm is a regular at the Seaside Farmers’ Market and is a new addition to the Lafayette Street Growers’ Market in Tallahassee. The farm will also be on New Leaf Market's Annual Farm Tour in October. Along with her love of real food and the ability to cultivate a passion for it in others, she brings chicken and duck eggs, her scrumptious preserves, and, if ordered in advance, fresh whole chickens to markets! The preserves and chutneys are made in a certified commercial kitchen with simple ingredients grown on the property or purchased from local farmers. Her Fig Preserve is made with fresh local figs, organic evaporated cane juice and cinnamon, and I can attest to its deliciousness!

Photos are from the Twin Oaks Farm website courtesy of Renee Savary and Eric Marcus.