July 12, 2012
Quote of the Week:
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
– Winston Churchill
Reflection from Noah
Do you know where your food comes from? It’s a legitimate question, and for most people the vast majority of the time I would guess the answer is no. It was a question that I never asked myself until a few years ago, and it is one of the advantages of living on the farm and growing our own vegetables. It’s an interesting concept, and there is a difference between knowing what you are eating and knowing where it came from, how it was grown, and what you are truly consuming.
For the longest time our family lived in the Twin Cities, fourteen years to be exact. We got our food from various different grocery stores, had a Sam’s Club membership for a while, and there was even a stint where we had the Schwan’s Man stopping by our place. All of the places were different, and the food was all different, but everything I was consuming shared one common characteristic; no matter what I was eating, I had no idea where the food was coming from and the effort that was being put into getting it to the kitchen table.
In 2006 we moved down to the farm and in 2007 we started the CSA in earnest. I will be the first to say that I did not take to the idea of living in the country and farming vegetables well, in fact I was quite hostile to this new lifestyle at the beginning. It has taken me a couple of years to warm to this new way of living, and although it is still not ideal for me, it does resonate with me on some level. There is something satisfying about putting sweat and hard work into the production of produce that we see on our table. I know where it comes from, I know the effort that was put forth to get it there, and I know all the aspects of the vegetables I am consuming. In a sense I am a knowledgeable eater, at least in this sense. While I do continue to eat at restaurants and buy processed food (I am a college student after all…) it is with a different frame of mind. When stopping for fast food I ask myself the question “where is this coming from and what am I eating?”, and it does lose a large portion of its appeal. I’m not saying that you should know where all of your food comes from, that is impractical and frankly a far off possibility in today’s world, but it is important to know where at least a portion of your food comes from, which is part of what buying into a CSA is all about. Another step is to know the kind of effort that is put into the production of that food, to have a general respect for the hard work that people put in to producing the food you are setting on your table, and there is no better way to do that than to experience it yourself. To that I say, come and join us all for a day on the farm, see the gardens, pick some of your own vegetables, and further the journey to become an informed and knowledgeable consumer.
Farmer Notes on this week’s delivery:
- This hot dry weather is not good for brassicas like the cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. Broccoli doesn’t look the greatest, but tastes good.
- One full month now without a drop of precipitation.
- This is about the last of the raspberries – savor them while you can.
- Basil season – the 2nd crop will come with the peppers/tomatoes.
- Always a treat to dig up the first potatoes. They are not cured so eat em up.
- Serious salad times with the romaine, tatsoi and arugula.
- You can always dry or freeze most herbs to use at a later time.
- Rsvp this week for the farm campout weekend June 20-22.
- Always wash your produce!
