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LocalHarvest Newsletter, April 20, 2010
Welcome back to the LocalHarvest newsletter.
A couple of months ago, I spent an hour with Andy Grant, the farmer from one of
the biggest community supported agriculture programs in the country. Last year,
Grant Family Farms in Wellington, Colorado had over 3,000 CSA members. I have
to admit that I went into our conversation thinking that there was no way a CSA
could operate on that scale and be true to the core values of community
supported agriculture. I have to say, I was happily surprised. In this month's
main article, we take a look at what big CSAs can and can't offer, and how they
can keep the 'community' aspect of CSA strong.
Also in this issue we include an appeal for all readers to please pick up the
phone and call your Senators on behalf of the much anticipated food safety
bill. It is heading for a vote quite soon and needs broad public support to
ensure that the final version treats small scale farmers fairly. Take five
minutes to support your local farmers through wise public policy!
Enjoy the Spring and as always, take good care and eat well,
Erin
Erin Barnett
Director
LocalHarvest
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Grant Family Farms: 3,000 Members and Growing
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Andy Grant likes to tell the story of how in the mid-1970s he tried to pre-sell
produce - a la the CSA concept. The concept was foreign, people weren't ready,
and Andy moved on to wholesale venues for his produce. For the next 30 years,
his farm, located outside of Fort Collins in north-central Colorado, produced
summer and winter squash, onions, greens, cabbage, beets, and herbs for the
national wholesale market. Eventually the farm grew to 2,000 acres, all of them
certified organic.
Read more.
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From the LocalHarvest Store:
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Painted Mountain Corn. Aji Dulce Peppers. Emerald Green Velvet Okra.
Haley's Purple Comet Tomato. Even the names are beautiful. We have
about 600 kinds of
vegetable seeds
in our catalog. Now's the time! And don't miss our live plant department! We
have some unusual offerings there as well. Not planting a garden this
year? Join a CSA!
Planning a summer wedding? Many people are choosing fragrant dried
lavender as a wedding toss. We have
some available here!
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Activism Opportunity: The 'Food Safety Modernization Act' Needs You
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The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on a sweeping overhaul of the food safety
laws very soon! S. 510 is a "one-size-fits-all" approach that will
unnecessarily burden both farmers and small-scale food processors, ultimately
depriving consumers of the choice to buy from producers they know and trust.
Please contact your Senators to urge them to support Senator Tester's
amendments, or oppose the bill entirely. Senator Tester's amendments would
exclude small facilities and direct marketing farms from the most burdensome
provisions of the bill.
To call both of your Senators. You can find their contact information at
www.Senate.gov, or call the Capitol Switchboard toll-free at 877-210-5351. Ask
to speak with the staffer who handles food safety issues. To send an email,
click here.
For more information, we recommend the
Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance website.
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TV Worth Watching: Food, Inc.
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The Oscar-nominated documentary, Food, Inc., will be broadcast on PBS on Wednesday, April 21.
(Check your local schedule here.)
Food, Inc. takes an honest look at the power and perversity of the corporate
food system, and the impacts agribusiness makes on our health. Food, Inc. is a
hard-hitting movie, but ultimately offers a hopeful message about where we can
go from here. Check out the trailer
and/or post your comments.
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Slow Money's Second National Gathering: ISM* (*Inspired by Slow Money)
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Our friends at Slow Money asked
us to let y'all know about their second national gathering, to be held on June
9-11 at Shelburne Farms in Vermont. Here's how they describe it: "It's not an
ISM (as in capitalism, socialism, consumerism, market fundamentalism). But it
is a new way of connecting investors to local food systems. A new way of
connecting money, culture and the soil. A new kind of social investing and
philanthropy for the 21st century. Join this emerging network of thought
leaders, investors, donors, entrepreneurs, farmers, and activists from across
the country. Collaborate with folks from Austin, Madison, Northern and
Southern California, Pioneer Valley, Boulder, Santa Fe, Appalachia, the Pacific
Northwest and other places where Slow Money is starting to sprout. Learn about
Vermont's regional food system. Hear investment presentations from two dozen
small food enterprises. Let's fix America's economy from the ground
up...starting with food."
Click here for details and to register. To receive a 20% off
your registration, enter discount code "localharvest" to register for
the gathering and "localharvest+dinner" if you would like to register
for the Friday night farm table dinner celebration as well.
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Food from the Farm: Beet and Radish Salad
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We asked Josh Palmer of Grant Family Farms to share one of the farm's favorite
spring recipes with us, and this is what he sent. We found the sweetness of the
roasted beets and the snap of the radishes to complement each other
beautifully. This is a simple, delicious, healthy salad that would go well with
many main dishes. Enjoy!
(Recipes and More...)
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