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Archives for February 2019

Realizing a Dream

February 15, 2019 by monte

Send me to the Web Site

Over the last decade and a half, I have written a ton of newsletters. Probably in the neighborhood of 700. But this week something happened to me for the first time ever.

I had my weekly newsletter all done. I had rushed through my proof reading like I usually do. I am sure that there was a grammatical error like their usually is. And just before I was going to print and email it to you all, I read an article.

The article basically laid out how the huge savings that customers could (did) expect from Amazon buying Whole Foods were just a mirage. Amazon isn’t going to be able to waive its magic wand and fix the grocery game. Transportation, ingredients, and packaging costs were starting to eat their proverbial lunch. Only way out? Raise prices.

So why did this article have such an impact on my newsletter this week? In fact it is a pretty benign article. The irony of it was that I had just written about how we have been able to cut our prices and give you better value more than we have been able to do at any point over the course of our journey. And I think that we (finally) may be at the tipping point for the local food movement. Let me break this down a bit.

The ultimate goal for the Local food movement has always been offering something better, healthier, and more sustainable than the industrial agricultural food model. You have heard all of the buzz words for almost 20 years now… Buy Local, Less Food Miles, Support the Local Economy. But then there comes that time of self-reflection when you are looking at yourself in the mirror and question, “Are we really making a difference? Are those buzz words becoming reality or are they just buzz words that people like to dream about?”

I have to be honest that there have been times when the path has gotten a little faded and I have questioned if the Little Engine That Could would actually reach the top of the hill. But this week has reinvigorated me. Sure part of it is our move into a new warehouse. However, it is also seeing that what we have been doing for all of these years is moving the needle. Of course there is no Finish Line in this journey, but things are getting better. And that makes my gray beard smile.

All of the partnerships that we have been cultivating for years are giving us stability in this time of rising food costs. The Local food movement is (more and more) making good Economic sense and not just good Common sense. And this has been the pivot point I have been wanting to see. In order for the Local food wave to really reach its potential, we need what is good for the earth and what is good for our wallets to be in accord with one another. I think we are on the doorstep.

Back to my original newsletter for this week…we have seen supply of Local and Regional healthy food choices explode. This increase in supply, along with short miles to travel, has brought better value to you than we have ever seen. We are now able to offer you more food for fewer pesos than ever. Organic food is seeing more growers and better growing practices. That combination drives prices down and value up. A win-win situation for everyone involved including Mother Nature. We are in the doorway of a major shift of the industry; food free of chemicals has transformed beyond just a fringe food offering. We have to be thrilled about this.

Secondly, and this is huge, we arrived at this place through the will and the want of the people. Think about this, there has been no law passed to make people eat Organically grown food. Every bite of healthy food has been a choice made by a person. It is the reason why they say “Eating is an Agricultural Act.” What we put into our mouths shapes our agricultural industry. We are here today because of decades of conscientious eating in our communities. One bite at a time.

Thinking about all of those years of support for the Organic movement has made me think of how we are still in business today. And it is because of you. We have never had a billboard, no big dollar marketing campaign, shoot we have never even hired a salesperson. We grow and have grown throughout New Mexico strictly on our members spreading the good word of our food and of our mission.

For all of the word of mouth advertising you do for us, we want to thank you by giving you a $20 credit for every Friend Referral who signs up and orders. Plus they will enjoy 15% Off their first order. Thank you for keep us going/growing.

Onward and Upward, Farmer Monte

Filed Under: Newsletter

Arizona Dreaming

February 2, 2019 by monte

Take Me to the Website

In the farming world, you almost forget to talk about years; you just talk about what season it is. Are you in the height of your season or is it your off-season? And for most of the country, we all mostly abide by the same calendar. The majority of farmers are busy in June and not in January.

But Arizona is a different animal. Calendars do not look the same there as they do in most of the country. In July they are hiding up in the cool mountains not doing too much on their farms. And in January, when the rest of the farmers are drinking coffee and reading seed catalogs, Arizona is harvesting, weeding, and planting. Most definitely a very busy time of year for growers in Arizona. Their “off-season” is from too much heat in the summer and not too much cold.

Incredible that this climate is just 400 miles to the west. Truly remarkable that such different growing climates are separated by such a short distance. And for Arizona, they are just hitting the peak of their winter season right now. Citrus weaves into all of the greens, roots, and veggies that are coming out of the fields. Bringing these together, we are able to enjoy diversity and freshness straight through the coldest months of the year.

What you see this week are carrots, cabbage, kale/chards, lettuce, broccoli, zucchini, lemons, limes, leeks, grapefruit, tangerines, and oranges. We are fortunate and grateful for all of the food these growers brought our way this week. Luckily for us, this harvest will continue until the beginning of May when Mother Nature just makes it too hot to grow much produce in AZ. At that time, we will be ready for the transition back here into the Land of Enchantment.

What a tremendous dance of the local/regional food landscape we get to chew on. And as I mentioned last week, since most of the produce distributors for the large chain stores are located in California, it is hard to find Arizona’s regional food here in NM. We are happy to be able to support these family farmers to our west. Thank you for supporting them too.

Follow up on the redesigned Harvest Boxes. Folks I have to say that I finally feel like we have found the right solution to the collaborative CSA farm model.

I have been a part of the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) movement for the last 19 seasons. I can’t believe it has been that long, but calendars don’t lie. Over these years I have seen and implemented so many different variations of what we thought was the best model for that season. Pay in advance. Get whatever the farm grows. Take the winter off. Get eggs with your weekly Box. I mean if you can think about it, we probably have done it.

We have thrown so much spaghetti at the wall just to see what sticks with our members. I am sure that some folks get tired of the changes, but they are always done with greener pastures in mind. And we finally have found a happy place and I feel we have solved a major conundrum of the local food movement.

It boils down to the Quandary of Connection. We ask you to connect to/with your food. We ask you to connect with us and our growers. We ask you to connect to yourself through your food choices. Then an amazing thing happens, you do it.

But then life gets busy. Flute practice blends into a basketball game and the next thing you know a head of lettuce goes bad in your fridge. If you had not connected to this lettuce then you would compost it and move on. But you love that lettuce and you start to feel guilty like Clark Griswold driving around with Aunt Edna on top of the Family Truckster.

So your connection to the food becomes a source of guilt. And like most people, we do not like feeling guilty. So me trying to force-feed you kale and eggplant just doesn’t work. Our model has to allow for you to have free will and choices in your kitchen to be sustainable.

On the other side of that coin, I want to “encourage” (not force) you to try the flavors of the season. And this new structure of the Harvest Boxes allows us to Seed ideas for your kitchen, but ultimately you have total control of what lands on your doorstep. This flexibility in your kitchen will be what makes this model shine. I have seen too many farms get their dogma run over by an unwillingness to be flexible. Thank you for all of your feedback and for being such an incredible part of this local food movement. Farmer Monte

Filed Under: Newsletter

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