The LocalHarvest Blog

Is it just us or is 'buy local' being promoted everywhere this summer? We couldn't be more pleased. As we continue to look for new ways to support family farmers while conserving environmental resources, we are interested in stories of how the growing interest in food sources is playing out in different communities. In this month's newsletter we look at the complex food system in Hawaii, which has been shaped by its geographical isolation and weighty political/social influences. There, a movement toward ho'ea ea, or "food sovereignty" is taking root. Matt Jacobson, a longtime fan of family farms and LocalHarvest, introduces the idea in his article below.

Guillermo

07:00 PM CDT

Summertime, and the living is easy - isn't that how it's supposed to be? Here at LocalHarvest, we've been taking advantage of the slow(er) season by brewing some chicha, a Peruvian corn-based beer, falling in love (Guillermo) and doing a little traveling (Erin). We apologize for the delay in this month's newsletter and promise to return to our semi-punctual selves next time. This month we're keeping it short and sweet, with an update on last month's almond pasteurization issue, links to a couple of short videos we watched this month and thought you might like, and some great information/recipes featuring our mid-summer favorite -- blueberries.

Guillermo

07:00 PM CDT

Welcome to this month's edition of the LocalHarvest newsletter, where we rant about what's wrong with American agriculture, praise what's good, and offer you recipes and information on healthy eating. This month we're featuring olive oil in our health and recipes sections, and Erin Barnett examines the almond industry's new pasteurization mandate.

• 'Safety' in Overdrive: Pasteurizing Almonds
• From the LocalHarvest Catalog
• Cool New Update to LocalHarvest
• Farmer John's Movie Opens Nationally
• Nancy's Nutrition Corner: Omnipotent Olive Oil

Guillermo

07:00 PM CDT

This month LocalHarvest's Erin Barnett reminisces about the joy of visiting farms while traveling, and offers some resources for you to do the same.

Over spring break when I was a senior in college, some friends and I drove from Minnesota to the West Coast. Along the way we stopped and spent two days with one of the guy's relatives on a farm in Idaho. They had been dairy farmers, his people, but at the time of our visit they were retired and the cows had been sold. Still, the place was a real farm, and we got to work a little, walk a lot, and eat great food. We brushed two huge dusty draft horses until our arms were sore. We helped fix some fences and climbed into the hayloft and generally had a good time. The snowcapped mountains in the distance and the wildflowers in the yard made the place feel nothing short of magical after five months of Midwestern winter. I liked the life there.

I had already been bitten by the farming bug, but if I hadn't been, those days in Idaho might have done it. Though I did not grow up to be a farmer, I still make a point of spending as much time on other people's farms as I can. For me, it beats a Holiday Inn hands down. Next to the scenery and the food, the work itself is always the best part. It makes me feel whole.

If your summer isn't yet booked up, maybe it is a good year to spend some time on a farm! Many farmers open their doors to travelers, who can expect all sorts of different accommodations and experiences. If you are looking for something to give you the flavor of farm life but feel mostly like a vacation, you could spend a weekend at a farm offering 'farm vacations' (think: simple B&B meets working farm). If you are up for a farm-stay that might be more intensive in terms of either time or work, you could look into arranging a farm internship, which can vary in length from a week to a year.

The Internet is a good place to start researching what is available near home or somewhere you have been wanting to visit. You can start with a Google search on 'farm vacation.' Several states and Canadian provinces also have websites listing such opportunities. Here are three to get you started: Pennsylvania, California and Maine. This time next year, look for an "agritourism" search feature on LocalHarvest itself!

If you are interested in something a little less vacation-oriented, check out the WWOOF - USA website. WWOOF (World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) is an international organization connecting travelers with organic farms. You might also look into Organic Volunteers, a WWOOF-offshoot.

One day back at that farm in Idaho so many years ago, my friend and I planted saplings in the yard. The spirit of the place inspired us to make up a little song to sing to each tree as we put it in its hole. No awe-inspiring lyrics here, but somehow it fit the sentiment of the afternoon perfectly. To the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", it went like this:

Grow, grow, grow little tree
Tall and strong and green
Plant your roots deep in the earth
and have a happy life.

Fifteen years later that funny song still comes to me when I am planting seedlings in my garden. Farm vacations can make a deep impression.

Guillermo

07:00 PM CDT

These farm-to-table activities are also powerful ways of countering the increasingly commodified and consumer-oriented world of childhood. This month we look at how selling kids' food has become big business, and how parents can teach their children about "real food".

Guillermo

07:00 PM CDT

Hello again, and welcome back to the LocalHarvest.org newsletter. This month we are exploring how and why the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model is evolving. New variations on the theme are being created all across the country. So what does "CSA" mean these days? Are there limits beyond which the concept can not meaningfully stretch?

Regardless of the form it takes, one thing is certain: a growing number of people are placing value on forming direct relationships with farmers. Though CSA is fundamentally about a relationship between community members and a particular farm, establishing that relationship through LocalHarvest makes a lot of sense. Last year, thousands of people found a local CSA with the help of the LocalHarvest.org national directory.

Over 400 of these people went on to purchase their CSA share through our on-line catalog. We are hoping to double that number this year. On-line customers benefit from the convenience of being able to use their credit card to make the purchase. Moreover, we are able to offer them a level of protection in the unlikely event that things go badly and a refund is required. Last but not least, going through LocalHarvest helps support the site! To find CSAs in your area, go to www.localharvest.org, click on the CSA radio button on our search engine, and enter your zip code to start your search.

Guillermo

06:00 PM CST

Happy New Year from LocalHarvest and welcome to the first LH newsletter of 2007!

The glitz and glimmer of the holidays have finally faded and we are turning our attention to the promising year ahead. Specifically, and in our January newsletter, we are turning our attention to a topic that is somewhat surprisingly very much in the mainstream media at the moment - organics. Last month, we considered the value of supporting local, non-corporate, 'main street' businesses as an alternative to mall shopping in the face of holiday consumption and gift giving. This month, as we kick off a new year, we continue to think about the importance and value of buying local vs. corporate consumerism, but this time with regards to the meaning and importance of the term "organic" and the organic food movement. Here's to a beautiful New Year of cultivating community, fostering sustainability, and living a more "organic" life!

Guillermo

06:00 PM CST

Welcome back to the LocalHarvest newsletter!

As the days get darker and, in most parts of the country, colder, and the year draws to a close, we at LocalHarvest.org find ourselves reflecting more than usual on why we do what we do. Perhaps the hype and hoopla of the holiday season also contributes to our desire to bend inward, revisit the things that matter to us at our cores, and follow them, step by step. As the psychologist Carl Jung said, "Find that which gives you meaning, and let it be your guide." In this month's newsletter LocalHarvest's Erin Barnett offers you one slice of her holiday reflection in an essay on why supporting family farmers, rural communities, and local businesses can and should be a priority in this and every season.

Meanwhile, we wish you a holiday season made memorable for its simplicity, unexpected gestures of kindness, and warmth of spirit.

Guillermo

06:00 PM CST

Welcome back to the LocalHarvest newsletter!

As we head into the cooler, crisper months of autumn, and the summer harvests of garden fresh salads and luscious strawberries cease, many people turn to warmer, heartier meals to fuel our families and ourselves. Baked goods and meat stews, soups and roasts of all kinds find a place in the everyday and holiday feasts at this time of year. Indeed, it is a booming season for our local farmers who are raising livestock and poultry, and, thankfully, the demand for local organic meat, eggs, and dairy products continues to grow.

While we are celebrating both the season's abundance and the increasing availability of high quality meats and dairy products, we also want to draw your attention to a grave threat to the continued growth of small scale meat production. This month we write about the National Animal Identification System, a thorny and ill-conceived attempt to track the movements of all farm animals as a means of containing disease outbreaks. While we're all for safety in the food system, this particular program promises to give more political clout to factory farming while hamstringing family farmers with red tape - and in the end there is no real promise for increased consumer protections. It's an issue many of our LocalHarvest farmers feel passionately about, and since it is not getting much press elsewhere, we wanted our readers to be aware of it so you can take a stand if you choose.

Guillermo

06:00 PM CST

Welcome back to the LocalHarvest newsletter!

Welcome back to the LocalHarvest.org newsletter. You probably didn't go anywhere, but we have been on a long hiatus from writing. It has been a full summer here at LocalHarvest. As a few of you may know, in April our founder and president, Guillermo Payet, was critically injured by a drunk driver while out jogging near his home in Santa Cruz, CA. In what even his doctors have called a miraculous recovery, Guillermo is back at work and quickly making up for lost time. We want to thank those of you who heard about the accident and sent him your good wishes.

Meanwhile, LocalHarvest is going strong. One of the projects Guillermo has been passionate about was recently unveiled on the site – it is our new "forum" feature, where LocalHarvest fans, farmers, and the curious can discuss all manner of farm and garden related topics. Recent posts have included news and queries about a professional 'farm sitting' service, soap making, and organic school gardening. We encourage you to browse through the LocalHarvest forum and join the discussions!

With this issue of our newsletter, we are trying out a modified format. Rather than several shorter articles, we thought we would choose one topic on which to write a more in-depth piece. Each month the chosen topic will be one that affects many of our growers and also has larger implications for consumers and the world at large. This month we're writing about the tremendous growth in imports in the flower industry over the last decade, the associated environmental and social impacts, and the emerging growth in the organic flower industry here in the U.S.

We're eager to hear what you think of our new newsletter format! Please send us your comments by posting on our website's feedback form.

Guillermo

07:00 PM CDT

Welcome back to the LocalHarvest newsletter!

Whether Spring is in full swing in your part of the country, or still loitering just around the corner, one thing is certain: family farmers are hard at work. In shorts, no less. Or at least some of them are - take Keith Cooper, of Sweet Briar Farms in Eugene, OR, for example. When we called to interview him for this month's newsletter he reported that they'd had a mild winter, "It got down to ten degrees one night, but I still wore shorts underneath my coveralls. About the only time I'll put long pants on is when it's zero degrees, there's snow on the ground, or I'm going to the local rodeo." Good thinking. For more on Keith's philosophy, read on.

Guillermo

06:00 PM CST

Welcome back to the LocalHarvest newsletter!

We want to extend warm thanks to all of you who have been using LocalHarvest this Fall. Whether you have been using our unparalleled national directory to find local foods, or buying directly from family farmers through our catalog, your participation in LocalHarvest plays an important role in helping American family farms thrive.

As winter weather settles in all across the country, the season brings a shift in focus for many LocalHarvest farmers. Many are reacquainting themselves with their homes after spending most of the spring, summer and fall in their fields. It is a quieter time of year on the farm, and the natural time to review the past season and begin planning for the coming one. After the demanding production months, these slower, shorter days also offer farmers a chance to rest - even if they are poring over a seed catalog while they do so.

From all of us at LocalHarvest, we wish you a safe and happy holiday season. May you be surrounded by that which gives your life meaning and joy.

• Farm-fresh Meats for the Holidays
• Something for Everyone: the LocalHarvest Store
• Yarn, Yarn and More
• LocalHarvest Member Profile: Fertile Crescent Farm

Guillermo

06:00 PM CST

Hello, and welcome to our newsletter.

For those of us who love good food, half of the fun is the passionate pursuit of exceptional flavor and quality. The adventure of seeking out and trying new culinary treats gives us great delight, especially when our efforts are appreciated by family and friends. Little wonder, then, that Thanksgiving is the favorite holiday of so many. With good food, gratitude and loved ones at the centerpiece, what's not to love?

This year, we invite you to make LocalHarvest part of your Thanksgiving meal, either through the inclusion of locally grown foods, or by choosing some unique ingredients grown by family farmers elsewhere in the country. We have stuffed this newsletter with savory ideas for your meal. Read on, and bon appetit!

• It's Turkey Time
• Organic Cranberries: For a Real Thanksgiving
• $5 Turkey Coupon
• LH Member Profile: Speckled Hen Farm

Guillermo

07:00 PM CDT