Ana Hito
Promoting access to quality food, organizing dinners with a like-minded community and helming a market stocked with local produce are just some of the incredible things that Ana Hito does. The former food editor at Goop and curator behind event operation It’s A Dinner is passionate about the impact food has on the body and mind and what it can do to strengthen the community that surrounds her. When she purchased a plot of land in Goshen, NY a few years back, Hito didn’t necessarily know she was going to create this food-centric idyll, but it all unfolded quite naturally. The impetus behind It’s a Dinner as well as her CSA and food education hub on Goshen Green Farm is simply centered around the desire to share moments and knowledge that emanate from gatherings with good vibes and delicious food. You can learn more about her farm in the Hudson Valley, how to join the CSA program and when to visit the farm market below.
The Dandy spoke with Hito about everything from how she’s pivoted her people-oriented business during Covid-19 to her desire to share the breadth of information she’s accumulated about farming, cooking, balanced eating, and the environment with not-for-profits. All of this and so much more is what makes Ana Hito so damn Dandy!
We're living through an incredibly heartbreaking and scary time. How are you handling everything mentally?
There have been some high-highs and serious low-lows. This has been a shock to the system for everyone and for some more than others. At the end of the day, I have to continue to remind myself that I am and will continue to maintain super lucky. I’m on my farm, surrounded by friends who have now pretty much moved in on the farm, and given the immense opportunity to have the space and ability to be creative. With all of that I try to practice patience in learning, patience in understanding change, patience in flexibility, patience in myself, patience with change, and patience with time.
It's A Dinner is centered around the concept of eating together. How have you had to pivot your business to accommodate this new way of life?
The magic of the dinners has always been the intimate community you are surrounded by and for me that has always been something that I thought "set us apart" from other farm dining experiences. The struggle hasn't really been the logistics of being flexible and mending around constraints. It would be really easy for us to pivot, because we have the space and infrastructure. It's been more about, how do I create the same feeling and environment that you felt before when you came to a dinner? This has been the hardest question for me to wrap my mind around. I know people are itching to eat out, get out of the house, and be on the farm; but now more so than ever I feel like community needs to be prioritized, so I'm just trying to figure out a safe and responsible way to let that ethos ring. We've decided that the right way for us to pivot right now would be to open up a general store, with the same concept of sourcing things from our farm and from others.
Do you grow all fruits and veggies on your farm? If someone wanted to join your CSA, what do they have to do?
We don't grow all fruits and vegetables on the farm that end up in the CSA box or even at the dinners, but everything we use for both is sourced by me from other local farms and small businesses. To me that's the whole point of sustainability is not doing everything yourself, but relying on your neighbor. The idea that I can support other farms and businesses through these two different avenues is exciting and that's what I like to represent through the CSA box and the Dinners.
To get a CSA box, you can email us at info@itsadinner.com or you can purchase one through our site itsadinner.com.
You were previously the food editor at Goop. What jobs led you to that one?
I've been enthralled with food and the environment that surrounds a meal pretty much my whole life and started food styling and working for a few restaurants designing menus before I ended up working for Goop.
How the concept of It's A Dinner come about? When did you move upstate and where were you previously?
This year would have been the 5th year of the dinners. In hindsight, the progression of the dinners felt so natural. It wasn’t ever something where I said, 'Now I'm going to start doing farm dinners.’ The reality is I have a farm in upstate New York full of beautiful produce and wanted to share it with my friends. Somehow the idea of doing a big dinner for them with produce from the farm was more exciting than just coming up for the day. So, I began the dinners by just having friends and family come up from the city, or wherever they were. It pretty quickly became something I loved to do.
The notion of making and eating a dinner all from the farm was something I felt I needed and wanted to share. At the beginning I did all the cooking, decorating, setting up, and coordinating, but when I moved to California to work for goop it became too hard for me to manage it all. So I hired two chefs, and a few more people to help me run the show and it suddenly became something that was getting sold out and desired. So once a month (the last Saturday) of the month I’d fly back to put on “It’s a Dinner.” I still love doing the dinners and hope that we can soon resume doing them.
Your favorite meal of all time:
Butter lettuce salad with a shallot vinaigrette, a lot of cracked pepper , a side of sautéed peas with olive oil and garlic, and a large basket of crispy french fries. Oh, and a cynar spritz.
Some of your favorite local restaurants:
Around the farm there aren't really any good places. It's usually a bit of drive to get anywhere decent in the Hudson Valley, so I’d say my favorite places “near” the farm are Glenmere, Foxfire Mountain House, Brushland Eating House, and Valley Rock Inn.
Watching or reading anything good lately?
I've been reading Africa 999. I usually don't watch a ton of TV or movies. However, if I am you can catch me watching Gone With the Wind or a documentary of some sort.
5 people you'd want at your dream dinner party:
Phyllis Nugent, Alfred Loomis, General George Patton, Etta James and Loretta Lynn.
What are your top 5 essential skincare products?
Tata Harper Cheek Tint, Marie Veronique Gentle Gel Cleanser, Tata Harper Essence, Olio E Osso Lip/Cheek Balm, and Dr. Bronner's Eucalyptus Soap.
Share a major lesson you learned on the job:
If you're not always learning a major lesson, are you even on the job? I love working with the people in my field not just because I love cooking and the environment that’s set around a table, but because everyone has a different way of doing it. These approaches lend a hand to constantly learning, understanding and observing. For me, listening and seeing are the biggest lessons.
Do you have any other plans in the works for It's A Dinner?
With this summer quickly racing by us, I haven't really been thinking about doing dinners—especially with the constant flux and confusion surrounding the virus. The dinners to me are very community-centered and it has been difficult for me to envision the same kind of feeling with the format that we all have to follow now. So, to remedy the dinners I decided that the next best thing to do is open up a small farm market in our greenhouse on the farm. And then on the weekend we’ll start serving a small menu of food from the farm. We opened again on July 10th. I still want the dinners to be special like they are, so I will save them for a time when we can all enjoy each other's company and closeness again.
Running a farm looks glamorous in it’s own way on Instagram, but in actuality it’s obviously hard work. What's a day of farm maintenance like for you?
The truth is, I'm not a farmer. We actually have a whole team that is way more educated in horticulture than me. I advise what should be grown to support the needs for the dinners, the market, and now our weekend food truck. I run all the operations that surround the market, including the culinary experiences, new construction for the farm, and anything else.
An insecurity you've had to overcome:
Every day there are insecurities that are managed. The more my farm team grows and the more personalities join, the more I recognize insecurities. However, I try my best not to let them interfere with the work that goes on here.
Something you love about yourself:
Why is it that this question is always the most difficult to answer? I think there are a bunch of small things I love about myself, but one of the bigger things for me is confidence. It's something I admire in other people and for me it’s been something that has truly shaped my experiences and who I am. I don't really know where it comes from or why I have it, but I love it.
In a past life, you were probably a:
Probably a race car driver, because I can't ever stop speeding.
Causes that mean the most to you:
Education and healthcare are some of the most important foundational pillars that have the power to change communities and mindsets. Unfortunately in the country we live in, not everyone is offered an equal fighting chance for either of those two things. So, I try to support as many causes as I can that promote education and healthcare for all.
I want to work towards making the farm a place where we can work with not-for-profit organizations to help educate children/adults on farming and what healthy eating is, where food comes from, and how to incorporate smart ingredients into your every day meals. In the same way I want to share dinners with everyone, I also continue to think about all the ways I can share the information I know about farming, cooking, balanced eating, and the environment with others. My hope is that at the least it could be slightly enlightening and at the most stoke a yearning for further education in understanding the relationship between food and people.
Access to quality food remains an issue in this country. What steps would need to be taken to alleviate that?
This is not a question that is simply answered. There are many many factors that inhibit the reach of good quality food to most Americans and unfortunately it's not a quick fix. Speaking from a relative place of privilege, I find it ever more frustrating to answer a question like this. I could quickly spew a few ideas out that sound nice, make sense and seem like no-brainers; but in reality I'm not a single mom living paycheck-to-paycheck. I’m not a corn farmer who needs to support his family. I’m not an immigrant factory worker. I don't truly understand the struggle these people go through each day. I don't understand how they view health. I don't understand how they measure quality. I have this “birds-eye-view” privilege that allows me to speculate and I have an education that allows me to weigh my opinions against others. “Quality food” is not just about food; it’s unfortunately about politics, monetary gain, education, and large healthcare companies. It’s about almost everything else besides food.
With all that said, it’s my responsibility to work towards making a space where the notion and concept of quality food is no longer a specialty item. Where the single mom, the corn farmer, and the factory worker can be provided with better options, inspiration, and true quality without the tag of privilege attached to every vegetable, piece of meat, cleaning product, etc.
Wines you recommend for light summer meals:
These days I'm in love with Yo Yo wines. They have this great orange wine that I’m obsessed with.
Your vices:
I love a cocktail after work, I hate doing the dishes, and I'm the most terrible at filling my car with gas. It’s truly embarrassing the amount of times I’ve had to phone a friend to come rescue me from the side of the road because I ran out of gas.