Sunrise Orchards owners Chris and Barney Hodges met in 1989 while studying ocean biology and pollution aboard the SSV Corwith Cramer, a 134-foot-long brigantine that calls Woods Hole, MA, home port. After graduating college and trying out careers in geology and teaching, they followed their hearts back to the family farm and were inspired by the entrepreneurial and environmental challenges and opportunities that growing food offers. Since that day 25 years ago, they have weathered many ups and downs, become a mainstay of apple production in Vermont and the wider New England region, raised Sophie, Sam and Malia and continue to reinvent the farm, always striving to grow food responsibly, be good neighbors and take care of their beautiful corner of Addison County. Sunrise Orchards is 100% solar powered from growing to packing to refrigeration, and has been run by their own solar farm since 2016 and their refrigerated apple storage facility, Vermont Refrigerated Storage in Shoreham VT, has its own solar array that powers all of the cool rooms that safely hold the apples until we can eat them all! Our solar fields are also an abundant habitat for many pollinators, thanks to our friends at Bee the Change.
