Farm Fresh Buffalo Chicken Ranch Pizza

Farm Fresh Buffalo Chicken Ranch Pizza

This 30-minute Buffalo Chicken Ranch Pizza brings your favorite takeout flavors home with a local twist. Made with ingredients from Piedmont Fresh producers, this homemade pizza features Sunflower Farm chicken, Correll Farms tomatoes and onions, Homeland Creamery whole milk ranch, and Sandy Creek Farm Gouda cheese.

Perfect for Friday night pizza night, game day gatherings, or an easy family dinner, this recipe shows that shopping local can be simple, delicious, and part of your everyday routine.

• Prep Time:

• 15 minutes

• Cook Time:

• 15 minutes

• Total Time:

• 30 minutes

• Serves:

• 4 people

Equipment

• Pizza stone or pizza pan

• Parchment paper

• Baking sheet (optional)

Ingredients

For the Farm Fresh Buffalo Chicken Pizza

▢ 1 prepared pizza crust or 1 pound pizza dough
▢ 2½ cups shredded cooked Sunflower Farm chicken
▢ ½ cup buffalo sauce (plus more for serving)
▢ ⅓ cup ranch dressing made with Homeland Creamery whole milk (plus more for serving)
▢ 2 cups freshly shredded Sandy Creek Farm Gouda cheese
▢ ⅓ cup crumbled Sandy Creek Farm blue cheese (optional)
▢ 2 tablespoons chopped Correll Farms onions

For the Farm Fresh Tomato Sauce

▢ Fresh tomatoes from Correll Farms
▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
▢ 1–2 cloves garlic, minced
▢ Salt and pepper to taste
▢ Italian seasoning (optional)

Instructions

Prepare the Oven

Preheat oven to 425°F. If using a pizza stone or pizza pan, place it in the oven while it preheats. A hot pizza surface helps create a crispier crust.

Make Your Farm Fresh Tomato Sauce

Dice fresh Correll Farms tomatoes and cook with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper until softened.

Blend or mash the tomatoes into a simple homemade pizza sauce. Add Italian seasoning if desired.

Prepare the Buffalo Chicken

In a bowl, combine shredded Sunflower Farm chicken with buffalo sauce until evenly coated.

Build Your Pizza

Place pizza crust on parchment paper.

Spread the homemade Correll Farms tomato sauce evenly over the crust.

Top with buffalo chicken, ranch dressing, Sandy Creek Farm Gouda cheese, and chopped Correll Farms onions.

If you enjoy the classic buffalo chicken flavor combination, add Sandy Creek Farm blue cheese as an optional topping.

Bake the Pizza

Carefully transfer the pizza onto your preheated pizza pan or stone.

Bake for 10–15 minutes, until:

• Cheese is melted and bubbly

• Crust is golden and crispy

• Dough is cooked through

Finish with an extra drizzle of ranch and buffalo sauce before serving.

Complete Your Meal: Farm Fresh Side Salad

Make this pizza night a complete local meal by pairing it with a fresh seasonal salad.

🥬 Fresh greens from Anders Family Farm
🍅 Tomatoes from Correll Farms
🧅 Fresh onions from Correll Farms
🥕 Seasonal vegetables available through Piedmont Fresh

Add your favorite homemade dressing and enjoy a fresh side that pairs perfectly with your buffalo chicken pizza.

Recipe Tips

• Prefer a milder pizza? Use less buffalo sauce or skip the blue cheese.

• Any pizza crust works — homemade dough, prepared crust, or refrigerated dough.

• Shred your own cheese for the best melt and texture.

• Fully preheating your pizza stone or pan helps create a crispy crust.

• Add extra local toppings like peppers, seasonal vegetables, or fresh herbs.

Make Your Next Meal Local

Pizza night does not have to come from a delivery box.

With Piedmont Fresh, you can create meals your family already loves while supporting the farmers and producers who make our local food system possible.

Start with one meal. Shop local. Taste the difference.

What’s Going On With Lettuce? Understanding the Recent Cyclospora Outbreak

What’s Going On With Lettuce?

Understanding the Recent Cyclospora Outbreak

If you've seen headlines about lettuce recalls lately, you're not alone. Many shoppers have questions about the recent Cyclospora outbreak linked to certain commercially distributed iceberg lettuce products, and what it means for the food on their table.

While the investigation is still ongoing, it's a good reminder of how our food travels, why traceability matters, and why supporting local farms has so many benefits.

What Is Cyclospora?

Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that can contaminate food or water. People who become infected may experience symptoms such as:

• Watery diarrhea

• Stomach cramps

• Bloating

• Loss of appetite

• Nausea

• Fatigue

• Weight loss

Symptoms typically begin about one week after exposure, though timing can vary from person to person.

Unlike many bacteria, simply rinsing lettuce may not completely remove Cyclospora. Because lettuce is usually eaten raw, there isn't a cooking step that reliably eliminates the parasite.

Why Do Large Outbreaks Happen?

Today's food system allows fresh produce to travel thousands of miles and reach millions of people quickly. That's incredibly convenient—but it also means that if contamination occurs somewhere along the supply chain, it can affect a large number of consumers.

A single processing facility may receive lettuce from multiple farms, combine it during processing, and distribute packaged products to grocery stores, restaurants, schools, hospitals, and food service providers across numerous states.

If contamination occurs before or during processing, one issue can quickly become a multi-state outbreak.

Food safety investigations then rely on tracing products backward through the supply chain—from restaurants and grocery stores all the way back to processors, distributors, farms, and even individual fields.

Why Local Food Matters

One of the greatest strengths of local agriculture is transparency.

When you purchase directly from a local farmer or through a local food hub like Piedmont Fresh, there are often fewer steps between the field and your kitchen. Fewer transfers can make it easier to know:

• Where your food was grown

• Who grew it

• When it was harvested

• How it was handled

Local doesn't automatically mean risk-free—every farm has a responsibility to follow safe growing and handling practices—but shorter supply chains often make products easier to trace if a problem does occur.

Where Did the Lettuce Go?

If you've noticed fewer local lettuce options this time of year, that's actually normal.

Here in the North Carolina Piedmont, lettuce is a cool-season crop. High summer temperatures cause lettuce to bolt, become bitter, and stop producing the tender leaves most people enjoy.

Many local growers intentionally pause lettuce production during the hottest weeks of summer before planting again for the fall season.

The good news? Fall lettuce is already on the way. Many North Carolina farmers have begun seeding now so they'll have fresh harvests ready as temperatures cool.

Seasonal eating not only supports local farms but also lets you enjoy produce at its peak freshness and flavor.

Free Cyclospora Webinar

Want to hear directly from food safety experts?

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, and the NC State Produce Safety Program are hosting a free educational webinar to discuss the current Cyclospora cases in North Carolina.

🗓 Friday, July 31
🕛 12:00–1:15 p.m.
📍 Via Zoom

Topics include:

• Current Cyclospora cases in North Carolina

• Investigation and response efforts

• Produce farm safety practices

• Preventing Cyclospora contamination

Questions and answers with food safety experts

Advance registration is required to receive the Zoom link.

Looking Ahead

At Piedmont Fresh, we're excited for the arrival of fall harvests. Soon you'll begin seeing crisp lettuce, leafy greens, root vegetables, and other cool-season favorites from our local growers.

Supporting local agriculture means supporting farmers who care deeply about growing safe, fresh food for our communities.

We look forward to helping bring those fall flavors from our farms to your table.

I think this version reads more like a community blog than a news article. It educates readers without creating unnecessary fear, reinforces the value of local food, and naturally transitions into promoting the NC educational webinar.

What’s Growing? A Lot. What’s New? Even More.

What’s Growing? A Lot. What’s New? Even More.

Summer has officially arrived, and Davidson County’s local food scene is in full swing! From farmers markets overflowing with fresh harvests to new products making their way into the community, there is always something exciting growing right here at home.

This time of year is one of the best for shopping local. Farmers are bringing in some of the season’s favorites, including juicy blueberries, ripe tomatoes, crisp lettuce, fresh herbs, colorful florals, and so much more. Each week brings something new as local growers continue to harvest the fruits (and vegetables!) of their hard work.

If you haven’t visited your local farmers market lately, now is the perfect time to stop by. The Thomasville and Lexington Farmers Markets are open every Saturday from 8 AM–12 PM, offering a chance to meet local farmers, discover fresh products, and support the people who help keep our community’s food system thriving.

Shopping locally means more than just bringing home fresh food. It helps strengthen our local economy, supports family farms, and keeps more of your food dollars right here in Davidson County. Plus, there’s nothing quite like enjoying produce that was grown just down the road and harvested at its peak.

👀 Something New is Coming to Piedmont Fresh

We have something exciting in the works! While we can’t share all the details just yet, we have a little surprise coming soon that we think our local food community will love.

Make sure you’re following the Piedmont Fresh Facebook page so you don’t miss the announcement. Trust us, you’ll want to stay tuned!

🌻 Grow Your Garden Knowledge

Want to take your gardening skills to the next level? Davidson County Cooperative Extension is offering a free Gardening Class Series this season for anyone interested in learning more about growing, landscaping, and caring for outdoor spaces.

Whether you’re planting your first backyard garden or looking to expand your knowledge, these workshops offer helpful information for gardeners of all experience levels. Topics include vegetable gardening, home fruits, healthy lawns, ornamentals, soils and composting, and pest management.

Classes will be held August 4 through September 8 from 9 AM–12 PM at the Davidson County Agricultural Center in Lexington. These workshops are a great opportunity to learn from local experts, connect with other gardeners, and build confidence in your own growing journey.

🌱 Register here: go.ncsu.edu/davidson-gardens

From the farmers who are harvesting fresh summer crops to the gardeners learning how to grow their own, there is always something new taking root in our community. We’re excited to continue sharing the stories, people, and products that make our local food system so special.

Stay tuned, because there’s always something growing!