[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 167 (Thursday, December 16, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2172]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING JOSHUA MATTHEW LEVINE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. TIMOTHY H. BISHOP

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 16, 2010

  Mr. BISHOP of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise to mark the untimely 
passing of an outstanding young man, Joshua Matthew Levine, one of my 
constituents who lived in North Haven, NY. Josh, who was only 35 years 
old, was a much beloved and well-known advocate for organic farming and 
healthy living. He left a successful job in New York City to move to 
the Hamptons where he became involved in the burgeoning organic farming 
movement that has recently attracted so many talented young people 
across our nation. He began as a volunteer at Quail Hill Farm in 
Amagansett, a stewardship project of the Peconic Land Trust, a non-
profit land preservation organization. Quail Hill is one of the 
original CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farms in the United 
States and serves 200 families as well as supplies food to local 
restaurants, schools and food pantries. After working a year as a 
volunteer at the 30-acre farm, he became an apprentice and then was 
hired as the farm's marketing manager. He also operated the 
organization's weekly Saturday Farmer's Market.
  Along with his wife Susan Ann Jones Levine, he threw himself 
wholeheartedly into the business of promoting healthy food and healthy 
living and he would go out of his way to explain the benefits of 
sustainable agriculture and organic farming to others. He was devoted 
to his wife and their two children, three-year-old Willa and six-month-
old Ezra. At a time when many think of the Hamptons as the land of 
glitz and glamour, it is refreshing to encounter a young person of such 
substance with an unwavering dedication to values that make our world a 
better place--cooperation, hard work and respect for the earth we live 
on. Josh Levine truly lived his beliefs. He was devoted to the idea of 
sustaining the land for future generations. On days when the Farmer's 
Market was open, he would arise at 5 a.m. and go to the farm to get the 
food and deliver it to the market in time for the opening at 9 a.m. 
More than 600 people attended his funeral and told stories about how 
hard he worked and how much he did to help others understand the 
benefits of healthy living.
  One woman recalled how she inadvertently left a large bunch of kale 
that she had purchased at the farm stand one Saturday. Josh knew that 
she needed the kale to help in her fight against cancer, and he spent 
three hours tracking her down after the farm stand had closed and 
successfully delivered the kale to her freshly packed on ice so that it 
would not wilt in the sweltering August heat. He believed in what he 
was doing, and his passion and enthusiasm attracted others. He enjoyed 
cooking and was an avid follower of the slow food movement. As a 
tribute to his good works, the mayor ordered the flag to be flown at 
half mast on the day of his funeral, a tribute usually reserved for 
military personnel.
  It is with great sadness that I mark the passing of such a vibrant 
young man, so involved in his community and devoted to his beliefs.

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