Lindsey Lusher Shute, founder of the National Young Farmers Coalition and an owner of Hearty Roots Community Farm in Clermont, is the featured speaker for the annual Flag Day luncheon of the Hendrick Hudson Chapter of the DAR. The luncheon is on Sunday, June 9, at 2pm at The Greens at Copake Country Club. The public is welcome to attend.
The Daughters of the American Revolution is a national nonpartisan organization that was formed in 1890 when the United States’ Civil War wounds were still raw and when lingering hostilities occupied too prominent a role. The DAR’s founders were women who envisioned a more congenial state of affairs that would promote healing, in which women’s contributions would play a central role. They created a new entity around the unifying concept of the country’s fight for freedom. They correctly perceived that respect for the American Revolution would be common ground on which many would agreeably stand. The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was born.
DAR chapters all across the country focus on NSDAR’s goals of historic preservation, education, and patriotism, and they engage in wide-ranging types of service toward those goals. The local Hendrick Hudson chapter is no exception. It has engaged Ms. Lusher Shute to describe how “Farming is Public Service,” in recognition of the essential role that farming plays in building and sustaining a healthy country.
Chapter Regent Jeane LaPorta says, “Only a country that can produce its own food can truly call itself free, yet farmers today, especially small farmers like those in the Hudson Valley, face often formidable challenges. Ms. Lusher Shute has spent her career in service of the goal that farming remain an appealing and sustainable vocation in all regions of the country, one that young generations can enter and in which they can thrive. This is crucially important all across the nation and no less so in our region.”
According to Lusher Shute, “Farms in the Hudson Valley and across the country are losing ground at an astounding rate, and with each farm lost, we sacrifice our local identity and food security. Before it is too late, we must support our farmers in new ways, and celebrate their labor as a critical service to the prosperity of our country. This is work for everyone who eats, and everyone dedicated to the success of our nation.”
Ms. Lusher Shute has recently assumed the position of CEO at Farm Generations Cooperative, a new, national agricultural cooperative that brings farmer-owners together to creatively solve business challenges. The National Young Farmers Coalition, which she founded, supports farmers with education, networking, and national and local policy advocacy. She is called upon to speak at venues all across the country and has testified before the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Lusher Shute has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from New York University and a Master of Science degree in Environmental Policy from Bard College. She and her husband Ben are raising their family at their certified organic Hearty Roots Community Farm.
Cost for the luncheon at The Greens is $27.00 for members and their spouses, and $35.00 for non-members. RSVP is required by May 30th. Checks should be payable to Hendrick Hudson Chapter, NSDAR, and mailed to Donna Brown, Treasurer, Hendrick Hudson Chapter NSDAR, 5020 Route 9G, Tivoli, NY 12583. For additional information, contact Jeane LaPorta, Regent, at (518) 755-3411 or Virginia Martin, First Vice Regent, at (518) 755-1521.
The National Society of the DAR is a non-profit, 501 (c) (3) charitable organization. It is open to women of all races, religions, and ethnicities who can prove direct lineage to an individual who assisted the patriots’ effort during the Revolutionary War. The Hendrick Hudson chapter, formed in 1895, owns the 1811 Robert Jenkins House at 113 Warren Street in Hudson and is engaged in a wide variety of local charitable causes. The chapter welcomes new members.
Hendrick Hudson Chapter, NSDAR 