Archives for March 2020

On September 11th, 2001 all of our lives changed forever. Our world changed the trajectory that it was on. Life would never be the same as we knew it before then. And I know that I am not unique, but the way I viewed the world changed forever.

On that fateful fall morning, I was drinking my morning coffee and preparing to head out into the fields of Jubilee Farm (Carnation, WA) to harvest food for our CSA members that were coming to pick up their weekly share of the harvest. I, like everyone else in the world, heard what had happened. I did not, however, run to a TV to watch the aftermath; I went into the fields to harvest fresh food.

Whatever chaos was transpiring in our country did not change the fact that our farm members would be eating that week and they needed our food. And honestly might need our food more than ever. The seas were churning, and our small local farm needed to be an anchor for all of our families that relied on us.

As the raw emotion of 9/11 morphed into poignant memory, my life would never be the same. After seeing how folks loved the grounding nature of our farm, I knew that local food was a key ingredient to a happy/healthy community. And since that day in 2001, I have had a laser focus to promote local food every chance and in every way that I can. Many of you are probably sick of me blabbing about it all the time.

Here is the hard thing, when the world is calm and at peace, you might not even know how important local food is. In times of peace, you can allow yourself to say, “Oh, milk is .25 cheaper over there, so why pay more?” Well, this is why we support local producers. Food security.

For the past 17 years we have been fine-tuning our model. Building relationships with producers. Putting together the best crew that we can. And now we find ourselves on the front line. I know that you must have tons of questions, so please let me address as many things as I can for you.

Skarsgard Farms is an essential producer at this time. So please know that our food/service is not in jeopardy of being shut down. I think if anything there will be a move to more delivery.

Producers. I have spent a very long week talking with all of our producers seeing how we can help them and they can help us. And let me tell you that we are in a fantastic and safe spot. Rasband Dairy is committed to bringing you all of the milk that you need. We are NOT in a ration situation, so please relax and order the milk you need. We have plenty.

Burque Bakehouse, Sage Bakehouse and Swiss Alps Bakery have given us the thumbs up that their supply chain is strong. We will have All of the breads and baked goods that you will want/need. So again, relax and you will not need to stock up.

NM Grass-fed beef. We have ranchers with plenty of cows to fill our needs. We will cut no corners in this time. Same amazing beef we always bring you, fantastic supply.

The Farmers’ Markets are not looking good this season. With this, I am working with growers to take all of the food that they would have sold at the markets. We are ideally setup to help growers out who want/need the help. This week for example, you will see Seth’s spinach mix from Vida Verde Farms. Seth was an intern on our farm once upon a time and now is one of the premier local growers that call NM home.

All in all, our supply is looking great through this challenging time. We have built this local food model with the belief that we are stronger together than we are alone. And we have a truly amazing team to help keep you fed throughout this time. I urge you to try and relax and let our food be your anchor in the storm.

Housekeeping Notes. Our Orders doubled in a week. The demand for home delivery is insane right now. To help us, help you, I have changed All Order Cut-Offs to 8AM the day Before your delivery. No more express routes. Sorry, but I hate over-promising and under-delivering. This will help so much.

Delivery fees. Our crew is working like crazy to get your orders packed and out to you. And I realized that my Econ professor was right in that “there is no such thing as a free lunch.” So to keep our service as strong as possible, I have eliminated free deliveries. Thanks for the understanding. We’ll keep trucking for you! Thank you for all the support. Be healthy and happy.

Farmer Monte

Wow! What a difference a week can make in our lives. Almost feels like we are in an avalanche of information and changing scenarios. I know that we have been inundated with updates of how businesses/sports/etc. are handling this virus, so you can add this newsletter to the stack.

Being brought up in a family of Vikings, we did two things in my family. First, celebrate Norway’s independence from Sweden on May 17th. And Second, never act (or overreact) emotionally. Relax, have a beer, and try to stay rational. So with my Viking code in place, I will dive into one of the craziest times that I can remember in my lifetime.

Our Goal: To make our warehouse a One-Way distribution center. Until there is better understanding as to how this virus behaves, I do not want to put any customer or crew member at risk from our foods and services. We have an impeccable track record over the last 17 years. We have never had a single issue with the cleanliness of our food. We aim to keep it that way.

So effective immediately, I have stopped the use of our reusable coolers. ALL orders will be sent out in our single-use cardboard boxes with no charge. Your order will be packed into a brand-new box. Never used before. These boxes are 100% recyclable through your municipal recycling program. Please recycle.

With that, I have asked our drivers to Not pick up any cardboard or Coolers left out. Hang on to your coolers and we will get the deposit issues worked out once we have a better understanding of the situation in front of us. But for now, we will not be accepting any coolers back into our distribution system. So please do not leave them out for the drivers or bring them to our warehouse. We will not be returning any coolers for now.

We recently launched the “Use Less Plastic” option for our customers who wish to limit their plastic usage. I have decided to remove that option for the time being. Again we will revisit this as we get more information from the CDC and State of NM.

Now, I have had folks asking me about measures we take to keep our warehouse and crew members clean. So let me address that for a few moments.

Our warehouse is a concrete bunker. I am not exaggerating. We are surrounded by concrete tilt-up walls, concrete floors, and even concrete roof panels. It is a tank. And we keep it clean.

Our crew is a very clean bunch. If the trade winds blow the right direction, you might even get a scent of lavender lotion. We all love food, respect the food, and are Very aware that our food ends up on your kitchen counters. We sanitize our prep tables 4 times a day and everyone wears nitrile gloves. You should rest assured that your food is taken care of properly.

But here is the biggest issue that can put your mind at ease…the Public NEVER comes into our warehouse food space. Ever. We have 16 employees who see and prep your food. But since we are not a store, no one comes into our space. Statistically a tomato is touched 8 times! before someone buys it. For us, it is touched once placing it in your order.

I will not hammer this topic all day but let me just assure you that there is NO better, cleaner, or safer way to get your food than Staying home, Ordering online, and Having us deliver to your door. It’s not even close.

OK, enough doom and gloom. I want to highlight a few things that happened this week that I know you will love. First, we had our new pasta machine delivered. Chef Steven is really good at making fresh pasta, I have to tell you. He made Beet ravioli this week that is some of the best tasting ravioli I have tried. We will be offering weekly specials on those guys and have weekly changing flavors.

Local Meats. We had fresh beef and spring lamb delivered to our warehouse. Incredible flavors, grass-fed, and supporting Local Ranchers. What is not to love about that?

The updated Scratch n Dent Box. “Farmer M., can we please know what is coming in the Scratch Box?” Yes, we have been working to try and find the best solution for this and we have a good one. We have increased the amount of produce you get from 8 to 10 lbs. Secondly, when you add that to your order, you will see all of the items that will be in the box. But, you will Not be able to customize. See contents, but not change them.

Stay Healthy & Happy, and don’t forget to laugh. Our bodies need it right now.

Remember “It takes a big man to cry, and it takes an even bigger man to laugh at that man.”

Salud, Farmer Monte

I love March. The whisper of Spring gets louder and louder at the beginning of March. And above all else, the first week of March marks another birthday for Skarsgard Farms (or Los Poblanos Organics depending on how long you have been eating with us). 17 years ago, we broke ground on a farm, on a dream, and on a vision of what the New Mexico local food landscape could or should look like.

I am a New Mexico kid. Born during a Lobo basketball game and raised in the valley of the Rio Grande. I am well aware of all the quirks and faults that New Mexico burdens, but at the end of the day, I freakin love this place that we all call home. So when it was time for me to find some dirt (soil) to plant my dream, New Mexico made sense. And after almost 2 decades, this place still makes perfect sense to me.

I believe in the sunshine and the land of New Mexico, but more importantly, I believe in the people here. You can have the best tasting food on earth, but if no one is there to support you, then you have nothing. We call our work The Local Food Movement and it is aptly named; without support from you, there would be no movement. No energy. Only my wilted dreams.

On this birthday week, I am really excited to share the next step of our always changing vision for a better mañana.

Inhouse Chef. We have been on a path to help bring Healthy and Fresh to you in a more Convenient way. Maybe you have seen this trend taking shape over the last 6 months. But now, we have taken the step to hire an Inhouse Chef with a clear goal in mind; bring you all of our food in a more convenient and approachable way. This will not replace the Harvest Boxes, raw foods, etc., just expand how we can bring you options.

Chef Steven Peyer comes to us with nearly 3 decades of experience at the highest level. Part of the original farm to table movement in San Francisco’s Bay area, he has racked up years of impressive experience around the world from The River Café in London to Simply Balmy in Foxton Beach, New Zealand. Café Lago in Seattle to Forchetta Bastoni in Sebastabol, CA and many other places. I know that you will enjoy all of the flavors and diversity that he brings to the table.

How will this all work? Well for starters, we have redesigned the website a little bit to have some better organization and clarity for you. Take a few moments to browse around the site to see all of the new items and structure.

Next up, we are moving to making more of the meals here so the assembly for you will be a whole lot easier. For example, we have made all of the Lasagnas here so all you need to do is heat them up and toss the salad. Done. Dinner served.

Additionally, we have added (and will be adding more) ready-to-eat items like Sandwiches, Salads, and even Curry. As we expand this offering, look for this to become a yummy deli concept—Fresh, Diverse, and Convenient. High quality flavors at very affordable prices. This is NOT an attempt at fine dining. This is taking all of the amazing food we have in front of us and bringing it to you in fun ways.

These prepared food options will Not eliminate our Meal Kit program that we have built up over the last 6 months. So if you have been loving the Meal Kits (by looking at demand, many of you are), Chef Steven will help just make these a little easier for you to construct. We will try and make the sauces and dressings here to help make them more convenient and use less packaging getting the food to you. But as you will see on the website, the Meal Kits will not be going away.

Lastly this week, a little restructuring with our Delivery Fees. As I was explaining our delivery fees to a new customer, I found myself confused. The tier system of fees had me tripping over my thoughts. And so I really wanted to make things more simple. More Black and White in a world full of Grey. So starting this week we will have a $6.95 Delivery Fee for any order Under $75. And FREE delivery for any orders $75 or greater. Just 2 levels, Fee or Free. Up to you.

As I have written countless times, I Hate delivery fees! I do not want your $ for delivery fees. I want to feed you. So I encourage, plead, beg you to explore the website and see all of the amazing flavors that we have brought together for you. You will have an easy time getting orders to $75 then we won’t have to worry about delivery fees at all. Just enjoying great food.

Farmer Monte