eating local

I happen to live in a rural area where farmers are plentiful, meaning we have ready access to locally grown foods from late spring through fall (nada in winter, but more on that).  That's not to say I don't stop by the grocery store - no matter how hard I wish or pray, avocados, lemons and limes just aren't going to grow here and I love them!

A couple of years ago, while out at a local restaurant for brunch, I commented on how incredible the eggs were - turned out they were from a small family farm right down the road.  The restaurant owner was all too happy to give me their contact information and before I knew it, we had ready access to farm fresh, free run eggs!

Not long after, we signed up to participate in their seasonal CSA (Community Support Agriculture) program and a now 3 year relationship with Heritage Harvest Farms began!  As you'll see from their website, Heritage Harvest Farms is a small (well relatively speaking anyways), local, family run farm.  This year was the launch of their year round CSA program whereby for a set fee, we receive a weekly delivery of goodies throughout the year, a sample of which you see below.

What you can't see here are the dozen eggs, as well as meat products we receive every week.  The produce includes large tomatoes, a bagged mixture of grape/cherry tomatoes, various varieties of peppers, lettuce, various types of greens, cucumber, zucchini, green beans, purple beans, beets, fresh herbs and 2 loaves of homemade artisanal bread EVERY WEEK!  During winter months, the produce is expected to consist of things like carrots, parsnip, squash, potatoes, etc - the cold weather stuff.

The CSA model, if you're not familiar with it, basically requires the consumer pay a set fee for an agreed upon period of time and in return gets a share of the expected crop.  Obviously with farming, there is a risk/reward component and it mostly involves mother nature (assuming you've found a trustworthy farmer to work with).  When mother nature cooperates, there's the potential for significant bounty; if not, well... you get the picture - there's no guarantee.  You share the risks but you also share the rewards!

I love my farmer (yes you, Angie); our families have become acquainted, we stop by the farm and visit (albeit short visits given how much work they have to do!) and in general we have developed the kind of lasting partnership a foodie (that would be me!) can only dream of.

Here's to all the farmers out there making a difference for families like mine - thank you!!!