The LocalHarvest Blog

Like the photo? It's a new day, and we're kicking up our heels! So is this beautiful heifer, Cali Rae, from 4B Ranch in Mesick, MI. What an athlete! Two weeks ago we asked our members to send in photos of their farms and markets and nearly 300 people sent some of the most gorgeous farm shots we've ever seen. We are so pleased! Look for their beautiful photos on the LocalHarvest site and here in the newsletter throughout 2009.

Knowing that many of our farmers are also outstanding cooks, we also asked them to submit some of their favorite farm recipes. What generous members we have! Over 350 people sent in recipes. Starting next month we will be giving them star billing in our newsletter and, later in 2009, in a searchable archive on LocalHarvest. This change will make this the last month that Lorna Sass' recipes will be included in the newsletter. We want to thank her for sharing her enthusiasm for cooking and her healthy recipes with us over the last two years.! Lorna is the author of several cookbooks, including a new one being published this month. We have three copies of Whole Grains for Busy People to give away to lucky LH newsletter readers.

As promised, we have the results from our first ever grassroots survey, "How Does Local Compare?" You may recall that last fall we drafted a price comparison survey for seasonal produce and asked interested readers to collect data at their local farmers markets and grocery stores. What a complex puzzle this has turned out to be! We are learning a lot from this pilot survey. We hope to take another run at this question in the early summer, with some outside help. Watch the newsletter for details if you would like to participate in the data collection. Meanwhile, we offer you the results of our pilot study, below.

Erin Barnett
Director, LocalHarvest