Jul. 7—The Farm on Central in Carlisle reached a settlement with Warren County to operate.
“Our goal from the start has been to provide our community with fresh, healthy, nutrient-dense, regenerative food. At this time, the fastest way to do that is to go ahead and obtain the required licensure from the state,” owners Michael and Savannah Kilpatrick posted in an update last week on their website.
The owners of the farm and store at 572 Central Ave. were under a temporary restraining order issued by a Warren County Common Pleas Court magistrate. They were operating a retail food establishment without a license or public health inspections, according to a June 11 complaint from the Warren County Health District.
For the last five years, the Kilpatricks have sold organic fruit and vegetables — which are grown, harvested, cleaned and prepared on site — along with frozen meat, eggs, dairy products and other items from vendors through a private membership association with more than 3,000 members.
The Kilpatricks told health inspectors they believed that as a private membership association The Farm on Central did not need to be licensed.
Health Commissioner Duane Stansbury said previously that licenses are still required for private membership organizations, such as warehouse clubs, country clubs and fraternal organizations that sell food or have restaurants.
“There’s no exclusion in the state law for private clubs” regarding health code requirements, he said.
As part of the settlement agreement, the Kilpatricks also will invest $20,000 to connect the store to city water. The fields will continue using well water for crops, but the same water isn’t permitted for store use without an extensive approval process by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency that the owners said could take until wintertime for completion.
The store’s website noted that in its five years there had been no illness complaints or recalls.