The LocalHarvest Blog

LocalHarvest Newsletter, January 30, 2008

Four weeks into the new year and 2008 already feels broken in. We at LocalHarvest have spent a good deal of that time putting big plans in place for the site -- new ways for the public to interact with family farmers through our site, new content, new features. We hope you'll visit often and check out our progress. Meanwhile, we bring you this month's newsletter, featuring a story about a CSA that serves low-income people, and the way the farmers make it work. You will also find an update on the almond pasteurization issue, a great video on our collective consumption habits, and everything you ever wanted to know about beans!

Guillermo

06:00 PM CST

Happy holidays to all! Tis the season of sparkling lights and deep darkness, frolicking and hibernation. Tis also the season of reflection and planning. We at LocalHarvest are looking ahead to all the improvements we would like to make to the site in the new year.

We thought we would take this year end opportunity to ask for your ideas about what you would like to see us do with LocalHarvest in the next 365 days. We have many ideas ourselves, of course, but we always appreciate feedback! If you’d like to contribute your two cents, please send me your ideas at maildecode('erin%localharvest|org');.

Meanwhile, in this holiday season we wish for you a life that is warmed by simplicity and gratitude, generosity and kindness.

Sincerely,

Erin Barnett
LocalHarvest Director

Guillermo

06:00 PM CST

Happy Thanksgiving, all! Since we are always talking about good food and have been writing about our Thanksgiving excitement for a couple of months already, I thought I would devote this month’s newsletter to something different. The plan was to offer you some especially nice food and farming-related videos as our way of honoring the second best thing about Thanksgiving: lying on the couch. But in the end, I couldn’t let the opportunity to speak of gratitude pass without mention. The result is a greatly revised Thanksgiving article, videos sprinkled in: "In Praise of Praise".

With deep thanks for your support of LocalHarvest and America’s family farmers,
Erin Barnett
Director, LH

Guillermo

06:00 PM CST

Welcome back to the LocalHarvest newsletter. In this traditional season of plenty, we are turning our attention to New Orleans, a city of paradoxical abundance. Though signs of poverty and devastation are easy to find there, so too is the creative spirit that made the city famous. Our main article this month looks at one organization's efforts to ensure that everyone in the city can find healthy food close to home. The New Orleans Food and Farm Network is doing great work because they know how to work with people on what is, while also looking together for what can be.

Guillermo

07:00 PM CDT

Time conscious readers will notice that although the calendar already has a toehold on October, we're only now sending out the September newsletter. Why? In a word, the boss-man has been out of town. Backside glued to a motorcycle seat for over two weeks, truth be told, and having the time of his life. Guillermo Payet, LocalHarvest's founder and chief brain, writes a little about his farm-hoppin' adventures in the article below, but who can stuff so much fun into 500 words? If you want to get the true flavor of his trip, you'll have to check out our blog, where the best stories of the trip are told, and some great photos tell the rest.

Guillermo

07:00 PM CDT

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