Food is about much more than just what we put in our mouths.
The last two weeks built momentum towards more local, seasonal eating. But you may be left with a “how do I make it work for me?” kind of feeling. So this week we’re going to do less reading and more exploring. You’ll find resources to lead you to local food producers, and investigate various ways to connect with them.
When it comes to sourcing food locally, there are three main options: Shop at farmers markets, sign up for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program or grow your own.
We at the Huber household do a combination of the three. We grow what we can on our small speck of land, augmenting our harvest with buys from the farmers market (which we also enjoy for the social aspect of connecting with local growers and neighbors). During the winter a weekly CSA box from a nearby farm keeps us loaded up with fresh greens and veggies.
But buying locally can extend beyond just produce; last year, we joined a meat CSA (which we found out about at the farmers market) for a monthly supply of various locally-raised meats.
You’ll start this week with readings for all three of the above options. Then, on the next tab, you’ll get to investigate what’s available in your particular area. Finally, you’ll formulate a plan of action to get you plugged in to sustainably-raised food near you.
Let’s go ..
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THIS WEEK’S OBJECTIVES
1) to investigate what options are available for buying locally-produced food.
2) to come up with a plan for plugging in.
- This week’s introduction
- “Face of the Farmer” by Lia Huber on Nourish Network
- “CSA 101” by Lia Huber on Nourish Network
- “Seasonality Out of Season” by Lia Huber on Nourish Network
- “Community Supported … Pasture?” by Lia Huber on Nourish Network
- “Plant Something” by Lia Huber on Nourish Network
Farmers Markets and Local Farms
Odds are good these days you have a farmers market—or local farm you may not even know about yet—somewhere near you. Use these resources to find a couple and jot down their months, days and hours here. (Note, if you already go to one, that’s great. Still browse the resources, though, for 1-2 others to check out as well).
Download the worksheet from the ‘Wrap-up’ section to capture the name, location and hours of 2 markets near you.
Community Supported Agriculture
CSA’s are a wonderful way to support local farmers while staying supplied with fresh, local, seasonal food. Read up on what CSAs are all about, then use the resources above to find out what’s available near you. Write down the information for your top two below. (Ditto the advice above … if you already belong to a produce, CSA, for instance, investigate a meat or other type of CSA)
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/
http://www.sustainabletable.org/shop/csa/
Use the worksheet to capture the name and details of two CSAs near you.
Grow Your Own
You may already be a green thumb, or you may never have tried your hand at it. Nowadays, there are options for digging in the dirt even if you don’t have any of your own. Read and browse below and jot down any options that appeal to you.
“No Room to Garden? Share a Yard” by Evangaline Heath on Nourish Network
“No Yard? No Problem … Container Gardens to the Rescue” by Alison Ashton on Nourish Network
http://www.communitygarden.org/
Use the worksheet to capture two things that caught your interest.
PLAN
Now that you’ve done the legwork, set a plan for plugging in. Please don’t feel, however, that you need to do it all at once. The idea is to set a path of little steps to becoming connected to your local food scene.
Fill out the steps you’re going to take by when on your worksheet.
