TRAVERSE CITY — Shoppers may find store shelves empty of eggs these days, but in Long Lake Township Anavery farm’s 400 chickens produce enough eggs to support a 1,000-dozen giveaway.
The 78-acre Weinrich family farm launched a three-month giveaway this month honoring unsung heroes of the community, including snowplow drivers, delivery drivers, construction/trade workers and single parents/guardians.
Anavery Fine Foods president and co-founder Adam Weinrich said first responders and military personnel are frequently acknowledged for their service, while other workers essential to community functions often go unrecognized.
“This is for the rest of us who get up every morning, work hard in less glamorous areas, but don’t always get called out,” he said.
Each Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. members of the week’s honored group pick up a free carton of eggs.
Nate Brimmer of Alpers Excavating cleared snow at Anavery during this past winter.
“It’s pretty awesome that they’re willing to give back,” Brimmer said.
Contractors, trades workers and repair folks who show their trucks or tools may pick up a thank-you dozen on March 28. Single parents or legal guardians are invited to stop by for a dozen on April 2. Weinrich plans to establish the next round of giveaways later in April.
In 2019, Weinrich gave up his big city corporate job for country life. The third family to live on and work the farm in 100 years, he set about restoring it to commercial production.
Anavery Fine Foods raises heritage livestock and chicken breeds, abiding by sustainable animal husbandry practices. Plans call for increasing the chicken flock to 1,000 hens later this year.
An advocate for small-scale farms, Weinrich noted that more than 90 percent of the purchase price of Anavery eggs stays within the community to support a strong local economy.
Local consumers and producers across the region have developed a mutually beneficial relationship.
“Small farms only exist if people buy their products,” he said. “We’re lucky that people love the idea of small family farms, and a lot of people act on it, buy on farms and help maintain the culture.”
Weinrich supports Traverse City’s Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market and Glen Arbor Farmers Market in Leelanau County.
Linda Szarkowski, market manager for Leelanau County’s five farmers markets, emphasizes the importance of the area’s agriculture producers to consumers.
“Farmers markets are exceedingly popular” she said. “People like to buy local and meet their farmers at the market.”
Like Weinrich, she stresses the economic impact of small-scale farms.
“It’s more important than ever to support our farmers because supporting them supports everything in our community,” she said.